& 


5POKT 


EffANK  FORESTE 


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THE 


COMPLETE    MANUAL 


YOUNG  SPORTSMEN: 


WITH  DIRECTIONS 

FOR  HANDLING  THE  GUN,  THE  RIFLE,  AND  THE  ROD;   THE  ART 

OF  SHOOTING  ON  THE  WING ;  THE  BREAKING,  MANAGEMENT, 

AND  HUNTING  OF  THE  DOG;  THE  VARIETIES  AND  HABITS 

OF  GAME;  BIVER,  LAKE,  AND  SEA  FISHING, 

ETC.,   ETC.,   ETC. 


PREPARED   FOR  THE 

INSTRUCTION  AND  USE  OF  THE  YOUTH  OF  AMERICA. 


BY 

FRANK    FORESTER, 

AUTHOR  OF   "THE  FIELD  SPORTS,"    "FISH  AND  FISIIIXG,"    ''HORSES  AND  HOUSE 

MANSllIP  OF  THE  CNITED  STATES  AND  BRITISH  PROVINCES  OF 

NORTH  AMERICA,''  ETC.,  ETC.,  ETC. 


NEW  YORK : 

STRINGER  &  TOWtfSEND,  222  BROADWAY. 
1856. 


ENTERED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18.V>, 

Br'STKINQEK  &  TOWNSEND, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


JOHN  F.  TROW. 

Printer  and  Stereotyper.  No«.  31"  A  319  Broadway, 
(•irxtr  of    Wkxe  ttrta. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


THE  object  of  this  volume  is  neither  to  super- 
sede the  works  which  I  have  formerly  put  forth  on 
American  Field  Sports  and  Fishing,  nor  yet  to  sup- 
ply any  omission  in  their  pages. 

In  fact,  it  is  neither  an  abridgment  of  pages 
heretofore  written,  nor  a  compendium  of  facts  al- 
ready published  ;  nor  yet  is  it  entirely  an  indepen- 
dent work,  on  a  different  branch  of  the  same  sub- 
ject. 

It  was  found,  or  believed,  to  be  the  case,  by  the 
publishers  of  those  works,  which,  I  may  be  permit- 
ted to  say,  have  found  some  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the 
sporting  world,  that  a  volume  of  less  ambitious  style 
and  less  expensive  form,  taking  up  the  subject  more 
rudimentally,  commencing  actually  ab  initio,  deal- 
ing more  with  the  practice  and  less  with  the  higher 
spirit  of  Field  Sports,  insisting  less  on  the  natural 

2203945 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

history  and  general  habits  of  the  various  species  of 
game,  and  aiming  more  at  teaching  the  tyro  in  the 
trade  how  to  enter  himself  in  his  apprenticeship, 
and  how  to  advance  until  he  have  raised  himself  to 
be  a  master  of  his  guild,  is  called  for  by  the  rising 
generation  ;  and,  with  that  view,  they  have  intrust- 
ed to  me  the  preparation  of  this  manual. 

My  previous  works,  on  this  and  kindred  topics, 
were  intended  rather  for  sportsmen,  than  for  begin- 
ners ;  this  will  take  up  the  matter  ab  ovo. 

Much  will  be  found  in  it,  therefore,  concerning 
the  use  of  the  various  implements  of  the  chase,  the 
art  of  shooting  animals  on  the  wing,  or  otherwise, 
at  speed,  whether  with  shot  or  single  ball,  which 
were  omitted  as  unnecessary,  in  foregoing  works  ; 
nor,  I  hope,  will  this  matter,  while  it  is  essential  to 
the  new  beginner,  prove  either  useless  or  tedious  to 
the  mature  sportsman  ;  the  rather  that  it  will  em- 
body much  new  information  concerning  the  im- 
proved science  of  projectiles,  and  several  notices  of 
arms  not  invented  at  the  period  when  my  older  lucu- 
brations saw  the  light. 

The  same  observations  will  apply  to  what  is  to 
be  found  here  written  concerning  dogs,  concerning 
various  species  of  game,  concerning  the  proper  mo- 
dus operandi.  In  some  respects,  I  have  seen  cause 
to  alter  my  opinions  ;  in  some,  the  alteration  of  cir- 
cumstances has  compelled  an  alteration  in  the 


ADVERTISEMENT.  V 

course  to  be  pursued  ;  for,  of  field  sports,  as  of  most 
other  sublunary  matters,  it  is  true,  especially  in 
countries  comparatively  new,  where  population  and 
cultivation  are  progressively  increasing,  and  the 
wild  animals  of  the  chase  proportionally  on  the 
decrease,  that, 

Tempora  mutantur,  nos  et  mutamur  in  illis ; 

and  in  the  space  which  has  elapsed  since  first  I 
wrote  on  "  the  sports  of  the  field,"  in  this  country, 
there  has  been  ample  room  for  change,  and  change 
has  not  failed  the  occasion. 

To  conclude,  all  that  genuinely  comes  within 
the  scope  of  the  "  Sports  of  the  Field,"  especially  as 
regards  novices,  will  be  touched  upon  summarily  in 
this  little  work,  which  may,  in  some  respects,  be 
regarded  as  introductory,  in  a  few,  perhaps,  as  sup- 
plemental, to  my  more  thorough  and  voluminous 
publications  ;  but  must  not  be  expected  in  any  sort 
to  supersede  them,  as  their  greater  compass  enables 
them  to  embrace  fully  many  topics  which  are  not, 
as  indeed  they  need  not  to  be,  so  much  as  men- 
tioned in  the  following  pages. 

THE  CEDARS,  1856. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

ANTIQUITY  and  origin  of  Field  Sports.  Wanting  among  the  Israelites.  In  As- 
syria; in  Persia;  Royal  Parks,  or  Paradises ;  in  Greece;  among  the  Ro- 
mans ;  the  descent  of  the  Norse  races ;  the  chase  a  northern  passion ;  un- 
congenial to  the  Latin  nations ;  universal  among  people  of  Norse  origin ; 
not  notable  in  provincial  Britain ;  imported  by  the  early  Saxons;  ancient 
statutes ;  increased  after  the  Norman  conquest ;  cruel  game  and  forest  laws ; 
their  relaxation ;  continuance  of  the  taste  among  the  English  gentry ;  its 
effect  on  their  character;  New  York  prejudices;  modification  of  these ;  un- 
manliness  of  young  men  ;  public  attention  called  to  the  want  of  relaxation  ; 
true  sense  of  the  word  re-creation ;  present  need  of  re-creation ;  influence 
of  field  sports  in  soldiership ;  Balaklava  and  the  trenches ;  a  contrast ;  a 
recommendation;  what  I  promise  to  my  readers  .  .  .  pp.  17-33 

THE  GUN,  AND  HOW  TO  CHOOSE  IT. 

Shooting  with  gun  or  rifle  the  first  of  American  Field  Sports.  Hunting,  proper, 
little  practised;  severity  of  northern  winters ;  the  Washington  and  Mon- 
treal fox-hounds ;  fox-hunting  in  Maryland  and  Virginia ;  deer-hunting  in 
the  Carolina*  and  Georgia;  bear-hunting  in  Mississippi  and  Arkansas; 
coursing  deer  in  the  prairie  States;  forest  game  not  hunted,  but  stalked  or 
driven;  stable-stand  and  dog-draw ;  ancient  British  and  modern  American 
hunting  nearly  identical ;  the  cross-bow ;  shooting,  the  first  qualification 
of  the  American  sportsman ;  dog  management ;  wood-craft ;  the  crack  shot ; 
false  sportsmen ;  the  fowling-piece  ;  the  percussion  gun  ;  the  old  flint  and 
steel;  their  comparative  advantages;  flint  and  steel  everywhere  exploded; 
even  in  armies ;  the  double  gun ;  the  perfection  of  shooting ;  the  single  gun ; 
the  latter  good  for  beginners ;  its  weight;  its  comparative  effect;  its  con- 
tinued service.  The  gun  must  be  intrinsically  good ;  must  especially  suit 
its  owner.  Why  one  gun  suits,  and  another  not ;  how  to  try  if  a  gun  suits 
or  no.  The  trigger-pull ;  how  to  ascertain  its  force ;  the  light  pull ;  the 
heavy  pull ;  the  true  power  ;  cause  of  missed  shots.  The  actual  quality  of 
guns ;  difficult  to  ascertain  ;  metal  of  which  made  ;  the  common  cheap  gun; 
how  to  procure  a  good  gun ;  how  a  bad  one ;  the  flashy,  cheap,  sham  gun ; 
how  a  good  judge  judges;  forged  names  of  gunmakers  ;  Birmingham,  Ger- 
man, Belgian  rubbish;  best  quality  of  barrels;  various  opinions  on;  my 
own  taste ;  why;  London  makers  ;  provincial  do.;  wholesale  do. ;  Ameri- 
can do. ;  which  the  best ;  why  so ;  comparative  price  of  the  best  guns  of 
each ;  recommendations,  according  to  value.  Double-barrels ;  revolving 
shot-guns ;  breech-loading  do. ;  Lang's  patent  gun ;  Perry's  patent  do. ; 


Vlii  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

good  for  duck-guns.  Length,  weight,  and  gauge  of  guns  considered ;  the 
old  system;  the  new  system ;  Colonel  Hawkers  system;  the  best  general 
gun ;  its  size  and  execution ;  what  it  will  do ;  why  I  prefer  it ;  short  guns ; 
where  they  foil ;  double-barrelled  duck-guns ;  their  size  and  service ;  heavy 
single  duck-guns ;  what  they  will  do ;  what  they  will  cost ;  how  to  choose 
a  gun ;  the  trials ;  close  shooting  guns ;  scattering  guns ;  cartridges ;  charg- 
ing, and  its  effects ;  trial  of  duck-guns ;  what  is  a  crack  shot .  .  84-83 

THE  GUN,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  IT. 

The  art  once  obtained,  always  available ;  once  a  master,  always  a  master ;  with 
one  system,  with  all  systems ;  improves  with  improvement ;  three  heads  in 
the  use  of  the  gun:  safety,  effect,  service;  what  is  meant  by  safety; 
when  a  loaded  gun  may  bo  called  safe ;  always  liable  to  casual  discharge ; 
safety  stops ;  why  not  useful ;  how  to  carry  a  loaded  gun  safely ;  how  to  carry 
the  locks  safely ;  on  the  nipples ;  at  half-cock ;  at  full  cock ;  how  to  load  safely ; 
powder-flask  and  shot-pouch ;  how  to  ram  home ;  how  to  save  a  maimed 
hand;  how  to  cap  your  piece;  wadding;  gunpowder;  ducking  powder; 
copper  caps ;  sizes  of  shot ;  a  gun,  how  safe  in  a  carriage ;  how  safe  in  a  house  ; 
idiotic  Occidents  with  loaded  arms.  The  criminality  of  such  accidents;  the 
proper  penalty  for  such ;  how  not  to  draw  one's  ramrod ;  how  not  to  test  its 
being  loaded ;  how  to  blow  one's  brains  out.  How  to  clean  a  gun ;  the  effects 
of  foulness  on  a  gun ;  when  most  inj  urious.  "When  to  clean  a  gun ;  who  should 
clean  it;  who  not;  to  wash  the  barrels;  to  cleanse  the  barrels;  to  air  the 
barrels ;  to  dry  rub  the  barrels ;  to  clean  externally ;  when  not  to  clean  the 
locks ;  why ;  to  polish  the  stock ;  to  put  by  the  gun  for  the  season.  Per- 
cussion locks.  When  necessary  to  remove  them.  To  take  them  off.  Bar 
and  back-action.  How  to  dissect  the  lock.  How  to  clean  it ;  how  to  recon- 
struct it ;  how  to  preserve  barrels  when  laid  by.  How  to  restore.  Loon- 
skin  oil  The  rifle.  The  old-school  rifle.  Its  gauge  and  length.  Cause  of 
its  adoption  and  success.  Infancy  of  the  art  Its  natural  defects.  Gradual 
improvements.  The  short  yager  rifle.  The  English  double-barrelled  sport- 
ing rifle.  American  rest  and  target-shooting.  The  two-grooved  rifle.  The 
Minie  rifle.  The  Enfleld  rifle.  Breech-loading  arms.  Perry's  patent  Re- 
volvers and  breech-loaders  useless  as  shot-guns.  Military  revolvers ;  sport- 
ing do. ;  Colt's  patent;  pistols;  rifles;  Porter's  do.;  military  breech-load- 
ers ;  sporting  do.,  rifles ;  Perry's  arm ;  described ;  its  qualities ;  its  princi- 
ple; Sharpe's  arm;  where  and  why  defective;  my  own  choice;  single 
rifles ;  English  double  rifles ;  how  to  choose  a  rifle.  How  far  men  can  be 
taught  to  shoot  by  precept 84-127 

HOW  TO  LEARN  TO  SHOOT. 

The  great  difficulty.  The  Oakleigh  shooting  code ;  how  most  men  miss.  Why 
they  do  so.  Keep  the  eye  low.  When  a  stock  fits.  The  main  point.  My 
opinion  of  this.  The  art  to  be  acquired.  Common  error  in  this  country. 
Shooting  too  well  sitting.  What  must  be  unlearned.  Not  BO  in  Europe. 
Effect  of  this  cause  here.  What  makes  the  rifleman  miss  the  flying  shot. 
Mastery  of  the  gun.  Position  for  practice.  To  raise  and  cock ;  to  lower 
and  return  to  half  cock.  To  shoot  quick.  Both  eyes  open.  Practice  with 
caps  only — with  powder.  Candle  practice.  Practice  at  a  mark — without 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  IX 

shot.  With  shot.  At  small  birds.  To  judge  of  errors.  Allowance  for  mo- 
tion. Why  necessary.  How  to  acquire  the  trick.  Practice  for  flying  shots. 
For  running  shots.  Physical  disabilities.  To  learn  rifle  shooting.  Disper- 
sion of  a  shot-charge.  Directness  of  a  ball.  Necessity  of  perfect  aim. 
Steadiness.  How  to  take  aim ;  rest-firing  bad  practice.  Rifle  clubs.  Al- 
lowance for  motion  of  objects.  How  to  allow.  For  a  cross  wind — long 
ranges.  Eifle  shooting  and  shooting  flying  nearly  incompatible  ;  why  so; 
shooting,  riding,  and  to  speak  truth,  must  be  learned— young  .  128-153 

THE  DOG. 

His  use  and  qualities ;  kind  usage  of;  cruelty  to,  exploded.  House-dogs  not 
good  field-dogs ;  why.  Intelligence ;  how  cultivated.  Punishment;  when, 
and  how,  needed ;  in  breaking;  when  broken;  the  whip — how  to  boused, 
kicking  dogs — an  infamy.  Old  dogs,  when  to  be  flogged ;  when  to  be  rated. 
Dinks  and  Mayhew.  Food  and  condition.  Various  breeds  of  sporting  dogs. 
Sporting  authorities — Hutchinson,  Scropo,  Colquhoun,  Hawker.  English- 
broke  dogs.  English -bred  dogs.  Russian  setters  .  .  .  154-164 

THE  SETTER. 

His  excellences,  style,  beauty,  and  courage.  His  temper.  Compared  with  the 
pointer.  Craven's  opinion.  My  own  opinion.  In  summer  shooting; 
autumn  shooting.  Grouse  shooting  on  the  hills ;  on  the  prairies.  Absurd 
plan  for  breeding  setters.  Pointing,  formerly  an  acquired  trick,  now  an  in- 
stinct. Backing  the  same.  What  is  a  setter  ?  Classification  of  dogs.  The 
spaniel;  various  breeds  of — the  Clumber — the  King  Charles — the  New- 
foundland. First  mention  of  setters.  First  breaking  of  spaniels  to  set. 
Setters,  till  of  late,  called  spaniels.  The  English  setter ;  his  points,  his 
qualities,  his  beauty.  The  Irish  setter ;  his  points,  his  color,  his  nose,  his 
temper.  The  Russian  setter ;  his  points,  his  docility,  his  endurance,  his 
color.  Rare  in  America.  "  Old  Charon."  Style  and  point  of  Russians. 
Range  of  setters.  American  dog-breakers — an  error.  Beating  and  quarter- 
ing. Duration  of  a  dog.  Dog  poisoning  in  Jersey.  Denks  on  the  dog. 
Pointing  vs.  setting.  Color  of  English  Setters.  The  Webster  setters.  The 
Harewood  setters 165-187 

THE  POINTER. 

Not  a  natural  dog.  Original  type  of.  The  Spanish  pointer.  The  improved 
English  pointer.  Two  varieties.  Best  form.  Excellences  of.  Defects 
of.  Best  for  young  sportsmen.  Stonehenge.  Points  of  pointers.  Col- 
ors of  pointers.  French  pointers.  Double-nosed  pointers.  Temper  of 
pointers 188-197 

THE  COOKING-SPANIEL. 

Best  for  woodcock.  Preferable  for  covert-shooting  to  pointers  or  setters.  Why 
so.  For  quail  shooting.  Difficulty  of  breaking  cockers.  Little  used  in  Amer- 
ica. The  Carrollton  breed.  The  cocker.  The  springer.  The  Clumber. 
Their  points,  colors,  and  qualities ;  strongly  recommended  .  198-208 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 


THE  WATER-SPANIEL. 

His  blood  in  setters.  Crosses  always  objectionable.  This  cross  the  least  so. 
Two  varieties.  Points  and  colors.  How  to  break  him.  How  he  should 
work ;  how  retrieve.  Where  to  shoot  over  him — for  wild  fowl — for  snipe — 
for  teal — for  ruffed  grouse.  On  the  Canadian  rice  lakes  .  .  209-215 

THE  NEWFOUNDLAND  EETEIEVEE. 

On  the  Chesapeake.  In  Great  Britain.  In  Newfoundland.  The  Labradorean 
the  pure  St.  Johns ;  their  unrivalled  qualities ;  their  sagacity  .  216-221 

THE  HOUND. 

The  Talbot.  The  Sleuth  hound.  Shakspeare's  type.  Somerville's  type.  In 
George  III.'s  time.  Stonehenge's  views.  The  improved  English  hound. 
How  bred.  The  southern  hound.  The  American  fox-hound.  Color  of 
hounds.  English  stag-hound ;  English  fox-hound ;  English  harrier ;  English 
beagle ;  Scottish  deer-hound.  How  bred 222-234 

KENNEL  MANAGEMENT. — Absurd  dog-laws.  Hydrophobia— dog-houses — clean- 
liness— beds — food — water — exercise — special  remedies— for  fleas  and  vermin 
— to  harden  the  feet — for  rheumatism.  Lewis — Blaine — Youatt — Mayhew 
on  the  dog.  The  last  preferred.  Emetics— purgatives— for  worms— for  poi- 
son— for  snake  bites — for  epileptic  fits.  Take  advice  .  .  .  236-243 

SNIPE  SHOOTING. 

The  English  snipe — American  do.  Their  time  of  arrival— differs  in  different 
States.  Their  seasons— state  of  the  ground.  Their  habits — in  mild  weather 
— in  wintry  weather — in  hail  storms — when  breeding.  Drumming  of  snipe 
— great  flights  of  snipe — when  to  look  for  them  in  spring — where.  Best 
•weather  for — in  England — here.  Peculiarity  of  snipe — how  to  beat  for; 
with  what  dogs;  Col.  Hutchinson  ;  fast  dogs;  steady  dogs;  the  check  cord; 
dogs  racing ;  beating  at  a  trot ;  the  slow  pointer ;  down  wind ;  distance  of 
shots;  snipe  shooting  a  knack;  autumn  shipe  shooting;  in  Canada;  cour- 
tesy ;  how  to  shoot  in  company ;  how  to  mark ;  twenty  rules  for  young 
sportsmen.  The  Virginia  rail.  The  pectoral  sandpiper  .  .  244-2TO 

BAY  SHOOTING. 

Wild  fowl;  none  at  this  season;  whither  gone;  bay  snipe.  The  curlew. 
The  common  curlew.  The  Hudsonian  curlew.  The  Esquimaux  curlew. 
The  golden  plover ;  the  black-bellied  plover ;  the  Bartramian  sandpiper  or 
upland  plover ;  the  godwits — marlin  and  ring-tailed  marlin.  Eed-breasted 
sandpiper ;  red-backed  sandpiper.  The  yellow-shanks  tattler ;  tell-tale  tit- 
tier.  The  willet.  Mode  of  shooting  them.  Proper  guns  for.  Anecdotes. 
End  of  season 271-281 

WOODCOCK  SHOOTING. 

In  July — decrease  of  woodcock;  impropriety  of  law;  unfltness  of  season;  the 
old  birds ,  the  young  do. ;  shall  dogs  flush  ?  to  keep  dogs  steady ;  spaniel 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  XI 

work ;  snap  shooting ;  summer  woodcock ;  how  they  fly ;  how  they  alight ; 
to  mark  them  ;  to  shoot  them;  dry  weather;  wet  weather;  in  corn;  during 
their  moult.  Summer  migration  282-21)5 

GROUSE  SHOOTING  ON  THE  PEAIEIES. 

Six  varieties  of  grouse— the  ruffed  grouse;  the  Canada  grouse;  the  willow 
grouse ;  the  geographical  range  of  these  three.  How  to  shoot  the  ruffed 
grouse ;  the  Canada  grouse  and  willow  grouse  rarely  shot ;  the  pinnated 
grouse  or  heath  hen ;  the  sharp-tailed  grouse.  Range  of  the  pinnated  grouse ; 
season  for  shooting ;  size  of  shot ;  shooting  in  August ;  in  September ;  in 
October ;  pointers  the  best  dogs ;  why  so ;  best  way  to  hunt ;  proper  gun ; 
how  they  fly ;  how  to  kill  them ;  great  sport  ....  296-305 

BIRDS  NOT  GAME. 

The  upland  plover  or  Bartram's  sandpiper;  where  found;  shooting  them  from 
chaises  at  Newport;  stalking  them;  poor  sport.  Rail  shooting.  The  sora 
rail ;  where  found ;  when ;  their  habits ;  their  flight ;  how  to  kill  them ;  the 
proper  gun;  the  proper  charge;  the  landing  net;  reed  birds;  teal;  galli- 
nuleo ;  anecdotes  of  shooting ;  slaughter,  not  sport  .  .  .  306-315 

AUTUMN   SHOOTING. 

Quail;  woodcock;  ruffed  grouse;  large  hare;  smaller  hare;  morning  shooting; 
•when  to  start;  how  to  beat  for  quail;  the  best  ground;  the  point;  the 
flush;  single  birds;  the  bevy;  how  and  where  to  shoot;  how  to  mark; 
how  they  fly;  where  they  will  alight;  retention  of  scent;  lurking;  after- 
noon shooting;  quail  a  fast  flyer;  rises  behind.  The  ruffed  grouse:  his 
whirr  on  rising ;  autumn  woodcock ;  his  different  flight  now;  his  autumn 
lying  grounds ;  the  smaller  hare ;  to  hunt  with  beagle* ;  habits  of  the  hare  ; 
best  grounds;  how  to  get  shots;  where  to  hit  him  .  .  .  316-332 

WILD  FOWL  SHOOTING. 

In  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  swan ;  the  canvass-back ;  the  red  head ;  the  scaup ; 
the  buffel-headed  duck;  the  South-southerly;  the  ruddy  duck;  the  wid- 
geon :  the  teal ;  English  widgeon ;  English  teal ;  J.  C.  Bell ;  Chesapeake  Bay 
shooting ;  from  the  points ;  how  fowl  are  missed ;  the  best  guns ;  allowance 
to  be  made  for  speed  of  flight  To  tole  wild  fowl ;  how  to  shoot  on  the 
water ;  paddling  up  to  fowl ;  proper  powder ;  size  of  shot ;  goose  shooting ; 
from  batteries ;  unsportsmanlike;  Squam  Beach ;  Barnegat;  from  boats  in 
hassock;  over  stools;  calling  fowl ;  coots;  inland  duck  shooting;  the  mal- 
lard ;  the  pin-tail  duck  ;  the  green-winged  teal ;  the  blue-winged  teal ;  the 
golden  eye ;  the  summer  duck ;  the  dusky  duck ;  the  winter  duck ;  the 
trumpeter  swan;  the  snow  goose;  the  white-fronted  goose;  shooting  on 
drowned  meadows ;  by  stream  edges ;  on  points  of  the  great  lakes ;  on  the 
rice  lakes ;  best  guns  for  this  sport.  John  Mullin's  guns  .  .  333-350 

THE   FOREST  AND  THE   PLAINS. 

Moose ;  cariboo ;  elk ;  buffalo ;  antelope ;  bear ;  deer ;  turkey.  How  to  follow 
trail ;  not  to  be  learned  from  books ;  driving  deer ;  chasing  on  horseback : 


Xll  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

still  hunting,  or  stalking ;  fire-hunting,  not  a  sport.  Quid  of  Quincy ;  deer 
over  pointers ;  waiting  at  a  stand ;  riding  to  hounds ;  still  hunting ;  moose 
and  cariboo,  on  snow-shoes ;  stalking  buffalo ;  riding  to  buffalo ;  shooting 
from  the  saddle ;  where  to  plant  the  ball ;  what  sized  balls ;  sporting  rifles; 
how  stocked ;  how  sighted ;  always  reload  at  once ;  turkey  hunting ;  with  a 
call ;  over  beagles ;  true  sportsmanship 361-362 


GAME  FISH. 

EITEE  FISH  AND  FISHING. 

Stonehenge's  manual ;  American  fishes.  The  salmon ;  the  sea  trout ;  the  com- 
mon trout ;  the  lake  trout ;  the  siskawit ;  the  maskalonge ;  the  picken-1 ; 
the  chub,  roach,  and  dace ;  the  carp ;  the  bass ;  the  striped  bass ;  the  black 
bass;  the  rock  bass;  the  growler;  the  pike-perch;  the  perch;  the  suiiti.-h  ; 
the  eel  The  line,  reel,  and  hook ;  reel  lines ;  silk  and  hair ;  Indian  weed ; 
silk;  hair;  reels;  the  foot  length ;  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish  hooks ;  floats; 
sinkers;  swivels 863-879 

THE  ROD.— The  general  rod ;  the  fly-rod 879 

NATHRAL  AND  GROUND  BAITS. — The  earth-worm ;  dew-worm ;  marsh-worm ; 
tag-tail ;  brandling ;  red- worm ;  shrimps ;  cockchafers ;  beetles ;  grasshop- 
pers; moths;  ephemera;  caddises;  humble  bees;  gentles;  salmon  roe; 
shad  roe ;  smelt  roe  ;  shrimp  paste  ;  bread  paste  ;  ground  bait ;  fish  bait ; 
dead  fish ;  spinning ;  trolling  with  the  gorge  hook ;  to  keep  bait  fish.  Live 
bait 879-398 

ARTIFICIAL  BAIT  AND  FLIES. — How  to  tie  flies.  List  of  twenty-four  trout  flies ; 
salmon  flies ;  the  landing  net,  gaff,  &c.,  &c 893-405 

BAIT  FISHING. — For  minnows  and  small  fish 406,  407 

CARP  FISHING. — Best  rod,  line,  &c.,  &c. ;  ground  baits ;  baits ;  season ; 
method 407-409 

PKRCH  FISHING. — For  small  ones  ;  hooks ;  baits ;  large  fish ;  with  the  minnow ; 
roving ;  spinning ;  the  gorge ;  the  method 409-418 

PICKEREL  FISHING. — The  tackle ;  the  rod  ;  the  reel ;  the  line  ;  the  baits ;  the 
snap;  the  gorge;  to  spin;  to  bait;  the  season;  to  throw;, to  strike;  to 
play ;  to  kill ;  to  land ;  to  extract  the  hooks.  The  snap-bait ;  how  to  strike 
with  it;  the  gorge  hook;  least  cruel;  tackle  for  gorge  trolling;  how  to 
cast ;  how  to  strike ;  how  to  remove  the  bait ;  the  spoon  .  .  413-422 

BASS  FISHTNG. — Various  methods  of;  the  striped  bass ;  will  take  real  or  artificial 
squid;  artificial  salmon  fly;  may  be  taken  by  spinning,  trolling,  or  bottom 
fishing ;  shad  roe  in  spring.  Black  and  rock  bass  of  the  lakes.  The  ibis  fly ; 
trolling;  the  spoon.  The  growler  and  pike  perch,  taken  with  the  craw 
fish  .  428 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  Xlll 

EEL  FISHING. — The  ledger  line;  float  line;  night  line;  bobbing;  trimmers; 
sniggling;  eel-spears.  Live  fish  or  worm  baits.  How  to  bait  the  hooks. 
Where  to  flsh  for  eels;  how  to  strike  them 424-428 

BOTTOM  FISHING  FOR  COMMON  TROUT,  LAKE  TROUT,  AND  SEA  TROUT. — The  rod ; 
the  casting  line ;  the  gut  bait  and  tackle.  The  best  baits,  and  how  to  bait 
with  them.  The  minnow;  the  devil-bait.  The  season  of  trout;  the  best 
water;  how  to  cast  and  play  the  worm;  how  to  strike;  caterpillars; 
grubs;  salmon  roe;  how  to  use  dead  and  live  minnows.  How  to  spin; 
Walton's,  Stoddart's,  and  Hawker's  theory 42S-435 

TROLLING  FOR  LAKE  TROUT. — Order  of  description.  The  rod;  the  reel;  the 
line ;  the  train  of  hooks.  The  bait  and  flies ;  the  bait  and  kettle ;  the  boat 
and  oarsman ;  how  to  strike  the  fish 435-443 

NATURAL  AND  ARTIFICIAL  FLY-FISHING. 
Where  practised ;  the  difference  between  the  two      ....       444,  445 

APPARATUS  FOR  DIPPING  AND  WHIPPING. — The  rod  for  dipping ;  the  fly-rod, 
line,  and  reel ;  the  flies;  how  to  cast;  from  the  left  shoulder;  the  figure  of 
8;  how  to  play  the  fly 445-45'2 

TROUT  FISHING. — The  two-handed  rod ;  the  professed  fly-fisher ;  the  practical 
fly-fisher;  how  to  fish  any  water;  how  to  throw  the  flies;  how  to  strike; 
how  to  play  and  kill 452^157 

SALMON  FISHING. — The  tackle  ;  the  salmon-rod  ;  the  salmon-line ;  the  flics ; 
how  to  cast ;  how  to  choose  flies ;  where  to  cast  for  fish.  Cast  from  the 
left  shoulder,  sometimes  the  reverse.  Length  of  line ;  Mr.  Stoddart's  rule. 
How  to  work  the  fly  on  the  water.  Salmon  less  scary  than  trout;  to  strike 
the  salmon ;  to  play  the  salmon ;  one  third  of  flsh  hooked  escape ;  size  and 
power  of  flsh ;  Mr.  Stoddart's  rule  for  playing ;  grilse ;  baggits ;  how  to  use 
the  gaff;  how  to  kill  your  fish 457-467 

SEA  FISHING. 

List  of  game  sea-fish.  Weak  flsh;  tackle,  baits,  and  places  for;  king  flsh; 
tackle,  baits,  and  places  for;  black  flsh;  tackle,  baits,  and  places  for; 
sheep's-head;  tackle,  baits,  and  places  for ;  blue  flsh;  sailing  and  squidding. 
Three  tables  of  instruction  for  sea  fishing. 468-475 

APPENDIX  A. — Mullin's  New  York  fowling  pieces  and  prices ;  table  of  strength 
of  gun  metals 476 

APPENDIX  B. — Trimble's  imported  duck  guns,  Baltimore.          .        .        .       478 
APPENDIX  C. — Apparatus  for  artificial  fly  making 479 


fist  ai 


ORIGINALLY   DESIGNED    OR   ADAPTED    AND   DRAWN   ON    WOOD    BY 
THE   AUTHOR. 


PAG* 

POINTER  AND  DEAD  QUAIL,       ....         FEONTISPIECE. 

ILLUSTRATED  TITLE, 

GUN  AND  BASKETS, 7 

RED  DEER  ANTLERS, 17 

ELK  ANTLERS  AND  DOUBLE  GUN,      ....  84 

QUAIL  SHOOTING, 84 

SHOT  POUCH  AND  FLASK,           .....  92 

PERRY'S  PATENT  RIFLE, 119 

BEVY  OF  QUAIL  RUNNING, 128 

DEAD  QUAIL, 153 

GROUP  OF  DOGS, 154 

SETTER  AND  PRAIRIE  COCK, 165 

THE  RUFFED  GROUSE, 187 

POINTERS— TOHO ! 188 

FOX-HOUNDS  RUNNING, 197 

COCKER  AND  WOODCOCK, 198 

HARES  FEEDING, 208 

WATER-SPANIEL  AND  MALLARD,  .....  209 

NEWFOUNDLAND  RETRIEVER  AND  CANVASS-BACK,  .  216 

QUAIL  RUNNING, 221 

DEER  GREYHOUND, 222 

A  MAD  DOG  ON  THE  MARCH,  ...  .235 

AMERICAN  SNIPE, 244 

VIRGINIA  RAIL, 269 

THE  CURLEW, 271 

THE  GOLDEN  PLOVER, 274 

SNIPE-PITCHING, 281 


XVI  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PA«« 

WOODCOCK  SHOOTING, 282 

GROUSE  ON  THE  WING, 29« 

THE  GALLINULE, 806 

CANADA  HARE, \    .  .^  .'{j.  815 

AMERICAN  SWAN, 333 

ENGLISH  WIDGEON, 885 

AMERICAN  WILD  GOOSE, 841 

AMERICAN  TEAL,       .......  34T 

AMERICAN  ELK,    .           , 851 

AMERICAN  DEER, 859 

PLATE  OF  TROUT  FLIES, 860 

RIVER  SCENE, 868 

THE  SALMON,         .           .                                            .           .           .  865 

THE  SUNFISH, 878 

THE  REEL, '    V  8T5 

GORGE  HOOK  AND  BAIT,  .           .           .           .          „  • .  •  •    .  891 

GREEN  DRAKE,  TROUT  FLY,            .           .           .        '•*          .  405 

LONG  ISLAND  PICKEREL,            .           .           .                      .     -  406 

THE  CARP, .  40T 

GROUP  OF  PERCH, .  409 

THE  PICKEREL,    ....          fft#J%t"f    .           .  413 

THE  EEL, 424 

TRAIN  OF  TROUT-TROLLING  HOOKS,      .          .          .           .  489 

THE  NEW  YORK  SHINER,            .                   '.  . '       -  .         '  -.  440 

ROD,  BAIT-KETTLE,  AND  TROUT, 443 

STRIKING  A  TROUT  IN  A  RAPID,        *  '    v  .          .          t  444 

THE  BROOK  TROUT,       .           .           .           ....  45S 

STRIKING  A  TROUT  IN  A  POOL,  .       .        •.        '.           .     !      .  46T 

DRYING  FISHING-NETS,          .          .          ..    ;              •.  " ,-    .    '  463 

FISHING  SLOOP,         .......  4T3 


INTKODUCTIOtf. 

IT  is  not  known,  probably  not  now  to  be  discovered,  at 
what  period  in  the  history  of  man,  the  pursuit  of  wild 
animals — which  was  originally  undertaken  by  the  semi- 
barbarous  tribes  as  a  means  of  procuring  animal  food,  or 
for  protection  against  formidable  carnivora,  which  threat- 
ened either  their  own  existence  or  that  of  their  flocks  and 
herds,  as  they  gradually  adopted  stationary  homes  and 
pastoral  habits — began  to  be  regarded  as  a  sport.  But 
from  a  very  remote  period  of  antiquity  such  has  undoubt- 
edly been  the  case;  and  so  universally  diffused  in  all 
countries,  so  generally  implanted  in  all  hearts,  does  this 
passion  now  exist,  that  we  may  assume  it  as  certain,  that 


18  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

so  soon  as  hunting  ceased  to  be  a  laborious  and  paiuful 
necessity,  obligatory  on  the  nomadic  tribes  for  the  support 
of  life,  it  came  to  be  followed  as  a  sport,  to  be  the  delight 
of  the  warrior  nobles,  and,  as  game  gradually  became 
scarce  and  rare,  to  be  regarded  as  the  privileged  preroga- 
tive of  the  crown. 

In  the  Bible,  it  is  true,  there  is  little  mention  of  hunt- 
ing, either  as  a  method  of  procuring  meat,  or  as  a  pursuit 
of  pleasure.  Nimrod,  the  son  of  Gush,  we  are  told,  indeed, 
was  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord,  but  the  probability 
of  the  case  would  point  to  him  as  a  destroyer  of  savage 
beasts,  like  Hercules  and  Theseus  in  Hellenic  fable,  rather 
than  as  one, 

With  hound  and  horn  his  way  who  took 
To  drive  the  fallow  deer ; 

even  if  we  do  not  regard  him,  in  the  wider  light,  as  a 
hunter  not  of  quadrupeds  but  of  men,  by  the  chase  of 
whom  "  he  began  to  be  a  mighty  one  in  the  earth." 

Esau,  again,  we  read  of,  somewhat  as  an  exception 
among  the  pastoral  people,  over  whom  he  was  born  a 
leader — although,  partly  in  consequence  of  his  addiction 
to  this  pursuit,  which  with  him  clearly  must  have  been  a 
sport  rather  than  an  occupation,  he  lost  his  hereditary 
title — in  the  light,  probably,  of  the  first  authenticated 
hunter  of  the  deer.  There  are,  however,  many  natural 
reasons,  among  which  not  the  least  is  the  sterile,  rocky 
and  rugged  face  of  the  country  which  they  inhabited,  why 
the  children  of  Israel  should  never  have  acquired  a  taste 
for,  or  proficiency  in,  field  sports.  The  horse,  whose  plia- 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

ble  pasterns  and  delicate  hoofs  were  ill  adapted  to  the 
craggy  hill-sides  and  rocky  roads  of  Palestine>  was  pro- 
hibited by  the  great  legislator  cf  the  people  of  the  Lord ; 
and  his  place  was  filled  by  the  stiff-jointed,  stubborn,  long- 
enduring  ass,  between  whom  and  the  chase  there  is  the 
least  imaginable  connection.  To  the  Israelites,  as  to  many 
oriental  peoples,  the  dog  was  an  unclean  animal ;  his  name 
a  reproach,  and  himself,  instead  of  the  best  servant  and 
domestic  friend  of  man,  the  very  outcast  and  pariah  of 
creation.  Lastly,  owing  to  the  strictness  of  the  Levitical 
prohibitions,  many  of  the  chief  animals  of  the  chase,  as  the 
hare,  the  coney,  the  wild  boar,  and  not  a  few  of  the  choi- 
cest game  birds,  were  forbidden  as  articles  of  food  to  the 
chosen  people.  The  means,  and  inducements,  to  carry  on 
hunting  to  any  profitable  or  pleasurable  extent,  seem,  there- 
fore, to  have  been,  alike,  wanting  to  the  Israelites;  nor,  un- 
der these  circumstances,  can  it  be  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  it  was  little,  if  at  all,  practised  among  them. 

Ill  the  other  great  kingdoms  of  the  East,  however,  from 
the  earliest  ages,  hunting  and  hawking  were  practised  on 
the  largest  and  most  royal  style  by  the  monarchs  and  their 
chosen  nobles. 

The  noble  sculptures  recently  disinterred  at  Khorsa- 
bad,  in  the  vicinity  of  Mosul,  and  the  ruins  of  Nineveh, 
contemporaneous  with  the  events  described  in  Holy  Writ, 
abound  in  delineations  of  this  regal  mimicry  of  war.  The 
histories  of  the  Median,  Persian,  and  Assyrian  empires 
are  filled  with  allusions  to  the  eager  spirit  of  sportsmanship 
with  which  the  chase  was  prosecuted  at  a  time,  when,  "  to 
speak  the  truth,  to  ride,  and  to  shoot "  were  esteemed  the 


20  MANTTAl,   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

brightest  educational  gems  in  a  Persian  prince's  diadem. 
We  learn  from  Xenophon,  soldier,  hunter,  philosopher, 
historian,  that  wherever,  on  the  line  of  the  long  march  of 
the  Ten-thousand  from  Sardis  up  to  Babylon,  there  was 
found  a  royal  residence,  it  was  accompanied  by  a  great 
pleasure  park  and  preserve  of  wild  animals,  some  of  them 
the  savage  carnivora,  which  Cyrus,  he  says,  hunted  on 
horseback,  when  he  desired  to  take  exercise.  It  is  remark- 
able, moreover,  that  the  name  TrapaSeicros — by  no  means 
a  word  of  common  occurrence  in  the  Greek  language,  nor, 
so  far  as  I  remember,  ever  used  of  any  enclosed  ground 
within  the  confines  of  Greece  proper,  which  is  invariably 
applied  to  these  pleasure  parks  maintained  for  hunting 
purposes — is  identical  with  the  word  Paradise,  otherwise 
rendered  Garden  of  Eden,  in  its  primary  terrestrial  signi- 
fication, which  we  have  transferred  to  the  seat  of  celestial 
beatitude  and  repose  hereafter. 

The  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  both  in  verse  and 
prose,  abound  with  allusions  to  this  heroic  pursuit  and 
passion,  which  is  attributed  especially  to  their  most  favor- 
ite and  famous  demigods.  The  legends  of  the  Nemean 
lion,  the  Caledonian  boar,  the  tragical  hunting  of  Acteon, 
the  tales  of  Cephalus  and  Procris,  of  the  wild  Thessalian 
Centaurs,  who  nursed  the  martial  vigor  of  the  young 
Achilles  on  the  marrow  of  hunted  bears  and  lions;  of 
Phoedra,  Atalanta,  Adonis  the  beloved  of  Venus,  and  above 
all  Diana,  the  huntress  queen,  with  her  attendant  train  of 
nymphs,  are  familiar  to  all,  and  point  evidently  to  a  period, 
when,  in  the  intervals  of  war  and  warlike  forays,  the  chase 
was  the  daily  delight  and  occupation  of  the  patriarchal 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

hero-kings  and  their  rude  aristocracies,  who  held  their 
ancient  sway  over  the  scattered  Argive  or  Ionic  tribes, 
from  sandy  Pylos  and  the  blue  waves  of  the  Mediterranean 
waters  to  the  broad  plains  of  Thessaly  and  the  far  hills, 

That  look  along  Epirus'  valleys, 
Where  freedom  still  at  moments  rallies 
And  pays  in  blood  oppression's  ills. 

In  like  manner,  those  great  world-conquerors,  the  Ro- 
mans— though,  after  they  had  attained  to  greatness,  and 
become,  for  the  most  part,  city-dwellers,  they  were  too 
much  occupied  in  the  forum  or  the  field,  too  busy  in  the 
struggle  for  existence,  or  in  the  pursuit  of  empire,  to  give 
much  time  to  mere  amusements,  however  manly  or  martial 
in  their  tendencies — always  continued  in  some  degree  to 
hold  the  sports  of  the  field  in  esteem  and  honor ;  and  no 
young  man  was  thought  much  the  worse,  if  he  did  at  times 
neglect  forensic  duties  and  the  "long  business  of  his 
clients,"  to  couch  him  in  the  open  field  "  beneath  the 
frigid  Jupiter,"  awaiting  the  first  gleam  of  the  wintry 
dawn,  when  he  might  hope 

"  latitantem  excipere  aprum  fruticeto."* 

It  was  not,  however,  until  the  advent  of  the  Northern 
deluge  of  invaders,  Scythians,  Huns,  Scandinavians,  Teu- 
tons, Norsemen,  that  the  hunting  mania  took  permanent 


*  "  To  receive  upon  his  spear  the  lurking  wild  boar,  when  it  rushes 
from  the  thicket." — Hor. 


22  MANUAL  FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

possession  of  the  popular  heart,  in  every  land  which  yielded 
to  the  sway  of  those  warrior  and  hunter  races. 

And  to  this  day,  wherever  a  drop  is  to  be  found  of  that 
fierce  Northern  blood  surviving  in  the  people's  veins,  there 
you  will  find,  and  in  no  other  land,  the  passion  for  the 
chase  alive  and  dominant. 

In  southern  Europe,  in  the  nations  which  speak  the 
soft  bastard  Latin,  in  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  the  shores 
and  isles  of  the  Mediterranean,  there  is  no  hunter-spirit  in 
the  people ;  and  even  where  the  chase  has  been  attempted, 
as  a  regal  pastime,  by  the  rulers  and  the  princes  of  the 
lands,  it  has  fallen  dull  and  ineffectual,  a  mere  mimicry 
and  simulacrum,  of  the  genuine  sport,  and  no  more  like 
the  real  hunts-up,  "than  I  to  Hercules." 

In  the  Teutonic  wolds  and  woodlands,  on  the  con- 
trary, on  the  bleak  mountain-tops  and  misty  moors  of 
Scotia,  in  the  deep  green  morasses  of  Hibernia,  in  the  re- 
joicing valleys,  over  the  breezy  downs,  in  the  time-honored 
forests  of  old  England,  among  the  perpetual  snows  of  the 
frore  and  frozen  Alps,  upon  the  broad  and  burnt  karroos 
of  southern  Africa,  among  Australian  gum-trees  or  Cana- 
dian pine-woods ;  from  the  ghauts,  from  the  grand  peaks 
of  the  Himalayas,  to  the  stern  flanks  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  the  skirts  of  the  American  salt  desert,  how  gen- 
uinely, how  spontaneously  burns  the  hunter  ardor  of  the 
Norse  populations. 

So  long  as  Britain  remained  provincial,  the  inhabitants 
having  become  almost  entirely  Romanized,  during  four 
centuries  of  subjugation,  the  chase,  if  it  were  followed  at 
all,  was  but  a  desultory,  casual  and  unsystematic  pastime  •, 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

but  so  soon  as  the  Saxons  obtained  a  foothold  on  the  soil, 
hunting  with  well-trained  hounds,  and  the  pursuit  of  fowls, 
"along  the  atmosphere, "'by  means  of  reclaimed  falcons, 
became  at  once  a  science,  a  systematized  royal  recreation, 
and  in  the  end,  as  it  has  continued  to  this  day,  wherever 
the  Saxon  and  Norman  strains  of  blood  are"extant,  a  popu- 
lar passion. 

During  the  reigns  of  the  Saxon  monarchs,  to  such  an 
extent  was  this  sport  carried  by  the  nobles,  that  "  the 
sportsmen  in  the  train  of  the  great  were  so  onerous  on 
lands,  as  to  make  the  exemption  of  their  visit  a  valuable 
privilege ;  hence  a  king  liberates  some  lands  from  those 
who  carry  Avith  them  hawks  or  falcons,  horses  or  dogs."  * 
At  the  same  time,  so  general  had  the  taste  become,  that 
statutes  were  framed,  and  even  the  church  interposed  its 
censures,  to  prevent  its  abuse  or  misapplication.  "  Hunt- 
ing f  was  forbidden  by  Canute  on  a  Sunday.  Every  man 
was  allowed  to  hunt  in  the  woods,  and  in  the  fields  that 
were  his  own,  but  not  to  interfere  with  the  king's  hunting." 
The  increase  and  prevalence  of  this  recreation  may  be 
judged  of,  by  the  fact,  that  the  "  Saxon  Boniface  J  pro- 
hibited his  monks  from  hunting  in  the  woods  with  dogs, 
and  from  having  hawks  and  falcons.  "  Even  that  weak, 
impassive,  priest-ridden,  half-monk  king,  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, had  "  one  earthly  enjoyment  in  which  he  chiefly 
delighted,  which  was  hunting  with  fleet  hounds,  whose 
opening  in  the  woods  he  used  with  pleasure  to  encourage  ; 
and  again,  with  the  pouncing  of  birds,  whose  nature  it  is 

*  History  of  the  Anglo  Saxons. — Sharon  Turner,  3,  38. 
t  Ibid.  3,  37.  I  Ibid.  3,  38. 


24  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

to  prey  on  their  kindred  species.  In  these  exercises,  after 
hearing  divine  service  in  the  morning,  he  employed  him- 
self whole  days.  "  * 

Up  to  this  time  it  would  appear  that  game  laws,  such 
as  they  were,  had  been  enacted  only  with  reference  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  liberties  of  all  persons,  the  conservation 
of  good  order  and  decorum,  and  the  prevention  of  viola- 
tions of  the  Sabbath ;  not  as  yet  with  any  bias  to  the  pre- 
servation of  game,  much  less  to  interference  with  the  natu- 
ral rights  of  classes. 

With  the  Norman  conquest,  however,  while  the  passion 
for  the  chase  received  a  vast  farther  impetus ;  while  as  a 
science,  under  the  gentle  terms  of  venerie  and  woodcraft, 
it  was  materially  advanced ;  while  in  its  appliances  of  all 
sorts,  imported  Andalusian  coursers,  partaking  largely  of 
the  desert  blood,  which  has  since  rendered  the  English 
horse  so  famous,  imported  hounds  from  Pomerania,  Al- 
bania, Germany,  imported  falcons  from  Norway,  Iceland, 
and  the  Hebrides,  it  was  carried  forward  to  a  systematic 
completeness  unheard  of  before,  it  was  fenced  in,  as  a  royal 
and  aristocratic  privilege,  with  forest  laws  so  cruel,  so 
arbitrary  and  so  stringent,  as  rendered  the  life  of  a  red-deer, 
or  even  the  egg  of  a  swan,  a  heron,  a  bittern,  or  a  long- 
winged  hawk,  more  valuable  than  the  blood  of  a  low-born 
man ;  and  finally  it  drove  a  large  proportion  of  the  rural, 
Saxon  populace,  into  outlawry  and  direct  rebellion,  under 
chiefs  who  have  acquired  immortality,  like  Robin  Hood 
and  his  merrymen,  through  the  medium  of  those  contem- 

*  William  of  Malmesbury's  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  England. — 
Book  II.  Chap.  13,  p.  247,  Bonn's  edition. 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

poraneous  ballads,  which  sound  so  truly  in  unison  to  the 
chords  of  the  popular  heart. 

Parcelled  out,  as  greater  and  lesser  fiefs,  to  the  high 
Barons  of  the  realm,  and  again  by  them  to  their  knightly 
vassals,  as  were  all  the  lands  of  England,  as  fast  as  they 
were  overrun  and  conquered  by  the  equestrian  army  of 
the  Norman  William  and  his  successors;  the  sole  right 
of  following  and  taking  game  in  the  field,  the  forest,  the 
morass,  of  keeping  animals  or  implements  of  the  chase,  was 
vested  firstly  in  the  king,  and  secondly  in  the  holder  of 
feudal  and  manorial  tenures ;  without  the  smallest  refer- 
ence to  the  ownership  or  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

By  degrees  the  stringency  and  the  cruelty  of  these 
statutes  were  remitted ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the 
cooperation  of  the  Barons  in  securing  the  liberties  of  the 
English  people,  as  against  the  encroachment  of  the  crown, 
was  induced  mainly  by  their  desire  to  abridge  the  royal  pre- 
rogative in  the  matter  of  the  forest  laws. 

From  this  period,  and  the  state  of  things  then  existing 
unquestionably,  dates  the  hunting  spirit  of  the  English 
gentleman ;  his  addiction  to  field  sports,  in  utter  disregard 
of  climate,  country,  toil,  hardship  or  exposure  ;  his  jealousy 
concerning  manorial  rights  and  the  preservation  of  his 
game;  qualities  and  ideas,  which  he  carries  with  him  into 
whatever  quarter  of  the  globe  he  migrates,  whether  to  the 
snows  of  Canada,  the  unwatered  barrens  of  Australia,  the 
pestilential  brakes  of  Africa,  or  the  tiger-haunted  jungles 
of  Hmdostan, 

Coelum  non  animum  mutans  si  trans  mare  currat ; — 

2 


26  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

qualities  and  ideas,  to  which,  though  at  times,  perhaps, 
pushed  to  extremes  and  degenerating  into  something  of 
license,  he  yet  owes  much  of  his  excellence ;  and  for  which 
his  country  has  a  right  to  be  proud  and  thankful,  in  that 
she  may  rely  on  him  to  rough  it,  as  the  noble  of  no  other 
land  can  do,  in  the  hour  of  toil  and  trouble. 

And  this  brings  me  to  the  gist  and  bearing  of  this  my 
^introduction.  When  first  it  was  my  fortune  to  become  a 
dweller  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  of  the  United  States,  to 
be  a  lover  of  field-sports,  was  in  some  sort  to  be  tabooed, 
as  a  species  of  moral  and  social  pariah — the  word  sports- 
man was  understood  to  mean,  not  him  who  rises  with  the 
dawn,  to  inhale  the  pure  breeze  of  the  uplands  or  the  salt 
gale  of  the  great  south  bay,  in  innocent  and  invigorating 
pursuit  of  the  wild-game  of  the  forest  or  the  ocean  wave  ; 
but  him  who  by  the  light  of  the  flaring  gas-lamp  watches, 
flushed  and  feverish,  through  the  livelong  night,  until  the 
morning  star,  to  pluck  his  human  pigeon  over  the  green- 
field  of  the  faro  table.  The  well-to-do  merchant  foreboded 
no  good  of  the  younger  man,  who  borrowed  twenty-four 
hours  in  a  month  from  business  and  Walls-treet,  for  a 
day's  snipe-shooting  at  Pine  Brook,  or  a  day's  fowling  at 
Jem  Smith's.  The  lawyer,  who,  by  chance,  loved  such 
sports,  took  them  on  the  sly — packed  up  his  gun  and  shoot- 
ing toggery  in  his  carpet-bag,  and  stole  across  the  Fulton 
ferry  in  full  court-fig,  having  the  dread  before  his  eyes, 
of  becoming,  thenceforth,  a  briefless  barrister,  should  but 
one  of  his  clients  begin  even  to  suspect  that  he  knew  the 
butt-end  of  a  Manton  from  its  muzzle,  much  less  could 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

stop  a  cock  in  a  July  brake,  or  land  a  four-pounder,  with- 
out a  gaff,  on  a  single  gut. 

It  is  a  fact  undeniable,  and  there  be  many  yet  alive, 
beside  myself,  who  know  it,  that,  when  T.  Cypress,  jun., 
was  inditing  those  exquisite  bits  of  natural  and  sporting 
humorism,  his  Fire-island-ana,  and  other  similar  morsels 
of  unsurpassed  simplicity  and  art,  which  and  which  alone 
have  made  his  name  to  be  remembered ;  it  was  under  the 
strictest  seal  of  secrecy  that  he  communicated  his  produc- 
tions to  the  favored  few,  who  were  allowed  to  introduce 
them  to  the  world, — it  was  in  fear  and  trembling,  in  some 
sort,  that  he  saw  himself  in  print ;  and  with  a  firm  con- 
viction that,  if  it  should  be  once  discovered,  that  he,  a 
practising  counsellor  of  high  standing  in  New  York,  was 
actually  guilty  of  the  authorship  of  genre  sketches,  on 
sporting  subjects,  second,  if  second  only — as  I  think  not 
second,  but  superior — to  Elia  Lamb's  best  Essays,  "  Othel- 
lo's occupation"  were  done  for  ever.  That  to  be  an  author 
first,  and  then  a  lover  of  field-sports,  must  be  the  "  deep 
damnation"  of  any  New  York  lawyer,  though  he  were  a 
Blackstone  himself,  and  a  Coke  upon  him. 

At  that  time  no  man,  however  fine  a  scholar,  however 
brilliant  an  artist,  was  held  altogether  reputable  as  an 
associate,  or  entirely  right  in  his  mind,  if  he  were  npt 
wholly  and  solely  devoted  to  business;  and  the  only 
business,  which  was  esteemed  business,  in  the  eyes  of  the 
wise  men  of  Gotham,  was  that  of  making  and  hoarding 
money. 

In  many  respects  matters  have  mended  since  that 
time.  It  has  been  discovered  that  there  are  other  uses  for 


28  MANUAL   FOR   YOTINO   SPORTSMEN. 

money  besides  hoarding  it ;  that  a  merchant  may  be  just 
as  much  Sir  Oracle  on  Change,  and  that  a  lawyer  may 
hold  fully  as  able  an  argument  before  a  Supreme  Court, 
though  he  be  able  to  read  a  French  novel,  to  enjoy 
an  Italian  Opera,  or  to  have  an  opinion  of  his  own  con- 
cerning the  merits  of  Maud  or  Hiawatha ;  that  a  native 
poet  is  not,  necessarily,  an  idle  fellow,  fit  for  nothing 
rational  or  useful ;  nor  a  profound  historian  a  sad  misap- 
plier  of  his  time  and  talents ;  though  still,  be  it  said  with 
all  humility,  the  last-named  laborers  in  the  vineyard  are 
far  from  holding  the  same  place  in  society  here,  which 
they  do,  and  ought  to  do,  every  where  else. 

Still,  while  it  must  be  admitted  that  some  species  of 
mental  culture  and  improvement,  which  were,  but  a  few 
years  since,  held  to  disqualify  a  man  for  success  and 
usefulness  in  life,  are  now  tolerated,  and  even  admitted, 
if  they  do  not  prevent  the  main  end  of  money-making ;  it 
cannot  be  denied,  that  all  bodily  recreations,  all  athletic 
relaxations  of  the  mind  by  alternation  of  physical  eiforts, 
all  tastes  and  tendencies  toward  field-sports  are  as  much  or 
more  discountenanced  by  the  grave  men  of  cities,  and  less 
practised  by  the  gay  young  men  of  society,  than  they  Jiave 
been  at  any  time  before. 

With  the  former,  it  is  regarded  as  pretty  much  the 
same,  whether  the  young  man,  who  has  his  way  to  make 
in  the  world  by  a  trade,  an  art,  or  a  profession,  borrow  a 
few  hours  or  days  from  the  counter,  the  studio,  or  the 
closet,  to  unbend  the  overstretched  bow  of  his  intellect  by 
that  needful  exercise  of  the  body,  without  which  the  mind 
cannot  be  preserved  sound  ;  or  to  waste  them  in  morniug 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

practisings  of  polkas  with  fast  girls,  or  in  nocturnal  battles 
against  the  Tiger  with  fast  men. 

And  as  to  the  latter,  one  need  no  more  than  look  at 
the  bleared  eyes,  sallow  half-valanced  faces,  dwindled 
limbs,  undeveloped  frames,  and  rickety  gait  of  the  rising 
generation  of  those,  who,  by  virtue  of  their  natural  ad- 
vantages of  wealth  and  position,  ought  to  be  the  flower  of 
the  land,  to  see  that  they  are  utterly  degenerate  both  in 
vigor  of  mind  and  stamina  of  body,  and  to  prognosticate 
them,  if  they  wed — as  doubtless  they  will  wed — like  to 
like,  with  the  fast,  precocious,  weedy  beauties  of  the 
polka-nursery,  as 

mox  daturos 

Progenien  vitiosiorem* 

Of  late,  I  have  observed  with  pleasure,  that  many  of 
the  best  and  clearest  intellects  in  America  have  perceived 
the  necessity  of  calling  public  attention  strongly  to  this 
peculiar  feature  of  the  American  character  and  consti- 
tution. One  of  the  most  eloquent,  perhaps,  the  most 
finished  of  American  orators,  has  dwelt  impressively  on 
the  fact,  that  the  headlong  race  and  struggle,  the  earnest, 
life-enduring  and  life-consuming  contest,  for  advancement, 
for  wealth,  for  preeminence,  for  power  ;  beginning  before 
the  gristle  of  youth  is  hardened  into  the  bone  of  manhood 
and  ending  only  in  the  grave,  is,  in  far  too  many  instances, 
never  relaxed  for  a  moment,  to  enable  the  competitor  to 
seek  those  changes  and  diversions  from  unremitting  care 
and  travail,  which  are  as  necessary  to  restore  the  tone  of 

*  Soon  about  to  produce  a  progeny  yet  more  defective. — Hor. 


30  MANUAL   FOE  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

the  mind,  as  are  repose  and  sustenance  to  recruit  the 
forces  of  the  body. 

Even  from  the  pulpit,  the  true  sense  of  the  word 
recreation,  which  men  are  wont  to  use  frivolously  as 
equivalent  to  pleasurable  excitement,  has  been  pointed 
out — much  doubtless  to  the  wonderment  of  those  ascetic 
geniuses,  who  have  set  up  their  witness  against  all  amuse- 
ment— as  if  it  were  at  best  idle  and  unprofitable,  if  not 
sinful  in  itself,  apart  from  its  consequences. 

Much  exercised,  one  can  understand  these  Pharisees 
to  find  themselves  in  the  spirit,  on  discovering  that  this 
re-creation,  as  they  are  wont  to  style  it  in  their  nasal  self- 
sanctification,  is  so  called,  because  it  has  the  acknowledged 
potency,  indeed,  to  re-create  ;  or  make  anew  from  the 
beginning,  and  restore  to  all  its  pristine  elasticity,  lost 
and  worn  out  by  overcarefulness  concerning  the  things 
of  to-day,  the  mind,  which  has  been  actually  unmade  by 
preternatural  tension. 

That  relaxation  of  the  overtasked  mind  is  necessary 
even  to  the  maintenance,  much  more  to  the  improvement 
of  its  powers,  has  never  at  any  period  of  the  world  been 
doubted  or  disputed. 

Neque  semper  arcnm 
Tendit  Apollo — * 

has  at  all  times  been  a  proverb  with  the  most  Draconian 
of  pedagogues ;  and  never  surely  was  there  a  time,  when 
its  value  is  so  appreciable,  as  this  age  of  high  pressure, 

*  Nor  does  Apollo  always  bend  his  bow. — Hor. 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

when  every  thing, — education,  business,  politics,  all  that 
concerns  or  interests  mankind,  is  forced  ahead  without 
stay  or  stop,  whether  for  consideration  or  repentance,  as  if 
by  steam  and  electricity. 

And  if  it  be  admitted,  as  I  think  it  will  not  be  denied, 
that  never  was  it  more  needful  for  the  advantage,  moral 
and  physical,  of  all  classes,  that  some  comprehensive  plan 
of  rational  diversion  and  relaxation  from  incessant  labor 
and  anxiety  should  be  devised  and  recommended — it  will 
scarcely,  I  think,  be  questioned  or  disputed,  that  never 
was  there  more  need  that  some  measure  of  manliness 
should  be  infused  into  the  amusements  of  the  youth  of  the 
so-styled  upper  classes — the  jeunesse  doree — of  the  At- 
lantic cities,  some  touch  of  manhood  inoculated  into  the 
ingenuous  youths  themselves. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  whatever  faults,  whatever 
weaknesses,  follies,  deficiencies  or  vices,  may  be  justly  laid 
to  the  charge  of  the  English  gentry  and  nobility,  want  of 
manliness,  of  pluck  to  do  or  to  endure,  is  not  of  them. 

Of  European  armies  alone  the  English  is  officered, 
from  its  subalterns  to  its  commanders-in-chief,  by  the 
gentry.  In  France,  the  nobility  have  long  ceased  to  be 
the  nobility  of  the  sword ;  the  splendid  hosts  of  the 
French  are  officered  entirely  by  ike  juste  milieu.  While 
all  other  aristocracies  are  wholly  effete,  effeminate,  evi- 
rated, field  sports  have  preserved  the  English  gentle- 
man strong,  at  least,  of  body,  capable  to  walk,  to  ride, 
to  endure  cold,  heat,  hunger,  weariness,  wounds  as  well — 
he  could  not  do  it  better — as  the  meanest  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen  or  fellow-soldiers. 


32  MANUAL    FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Lamentable  as  has  been  the  misconduct  of  the  war. 
disgraceful  as  the  incapacity  of  the  leaders  of  the  war, 
infamous,  I  had  almost  said  treasonable,  as  the  apathy  and 
nepotism  of  the  home  government,  no  word  of  blame  has 
found  utterance  concerning  the  pluck,  the  stamina,  the 
endurance,  the  devotion  of  the  highly-born,  softly-nur- 
tured, noble  subalterns  of  the  English  army. 

They  died  in  their  stirrups  in  that  appalling  charge 
at  Balaclava,  avenging  themselves  by  tenfold  slaughter 
of  their  outnumbering  foes — they  rotted  piecemeal  in 
those  charnel  trenches — they  weltered  in  mute  agony,  in 
that  dreadful  ditch  of  the  Redan,  compelling  their  com- 
rades in  anguish  to  like  silence  by  the  wonderful  example 
of  their  young  constancy. 

Heaven  knows  I  wish  to  draw  no  invidious  distinctions, 
or  to  institute  odious  comparisons,  but  I  must  be  per- 
mitted to  doubt  whether  the  Schottishing  flower  of  young 
York,  who  would  shrink  dismayed  from  the  verge  of 
snipe-bog,  and  faint  at  the  idea  of  a  ten  hours'  July  tramp 
over  the  Drowned  Lands  after  woodcock,  would  have  shone 
with  much  splendor  in  that  hand-to-hand  affair,  in  the 
Valley  of  Death,  or  have  come  with  the  vivacity  of  the 
Polka  out  of  the  semi-liquid,  semi-frozen  mud  of  those  dis- 
astrous trenches. 

Seriously  speaking,  I  believe  that  over  earnestness  in 
the  pursuit  of  gain  on  the  one  hand,  and  over  frivolity  in 
the  pursuit  of  pleasure  on  the  other,  are  two  of  the  beset- 
ting vices  of  the  age ;  and  I  farther  believe,  that  a  little 
more  charity  and  less  austerity  on  the  part  of  the  old, 
and  a  great  deal  more  manhood  and  less  Miss  Nancy- 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

ishness  on  the  part  of  the  young  men  of  our  Atlantic 
cities,  are  desiderata  much  to  be  desired. 

For  both  complaints  I  would  seriously  recommend,  as 
a  physician  no  less  of  the  mind  than  of  the  body,  moderate 
doses  of  field  sports,  to  be  systematically  taken,  as  the  dis- 
ciples of  jEsculapius  have  it,  pro  re  nata. 

As  I  have,  however,  little  faith  in  the  docility,  obe- 
dience or  teachability  of  the  old  men,  it  is  principally  to 
the  young  men,  and  more  especially  to  the  young  men  of 
pleasant  rural  villages,  of  flourishing  inland  cities,  and  of 
the  beautiful  free  country  itself,  from  the  pine  forests  and 
clear  trout-streams  of  the  farthest  East,  to  the  boundless 
prairies  and  towering  crags  of  the  farthermost  West,  that 
I  commend  this  my  complete  manual  of  field  sports.  And 
this  I  will  promise  them,  that,  if  they  will  follow  my  pre- 
cepts in  the  letter  and  in  the  spirit,  although  I  may  fail  to 
turn  them  out  very  Nimrods  and  perfect  Izaak  Waltons,  I 
will  at  least  put  them  in  the  way  of  acquiring  what  is 
known,  as  the  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano — in  other  words 
a  good  appetite,  a  good  digestion,  a  good  constitution  ;  the 
use  of  their  limbs  for  the  purposes  to  which  the  God  of 
nature  intended  them,  "  the  slumbers  light,  that  fly  the 
approach  of  morn;"  the  consciousness  of  living  innocently 
before  God  and  manfully  among  men,  and  the  certainty  of 
dying,  when  the  time  of  death  shall  come,  as  it  behooves 
men  to  die,  not  misers  or  monkeys. 


—    '        ^  'r 


THE  GUN,  AND  HOW  TO  CHOOSE  IT. 

IN  the  United  States  and  British  Provinces  of  North 
America,  as  a  general  rule,  shooting  with  the  shot  gun  or 
the  rifle,  must  be  regarded  as  the  head  and  front  of  Field 
Sports;  and  not,  as  is  the  case  in  Europe,  second,  as  a 
tamer  and  far  less  exciting  pursuit,  to  the  glorious  excite- 
ment of  the  chase. 

In  the  northern  States  of  the  Union  and  the  British 
Provinces,  the  extreme  severity  of  the  winters  rendering 
the  country  too  hard  to  be  run  over  by  hounds  or  ridden 
over  on  horses,  except  during  a  few  weeks  in  the  autumn, 
and  a  few  more  in  the  first  opening  of  the  spring,  as  well 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT  35 

as  the  difficulty  of  the  almost  unjumpable  timber  fences, 
nearly  debar  the  possibility  of  fox  or  deer-hunting  with 
complete  packs  and  mounted  hunters.  Nor,  were  it  other- 
wise, is  it  probable  that  this  sport  could  ever  become  very 
general  or  popular,  owing  to  the  dislike  of  farmers  to  have 
their  fields  crossed,  and  their  fences  broken  down,  by  a 
rout  of  hard-riding  Nimrods. 

Some  years  since,  indeed,  two  packs  of  fox-hounds  were 
regularly  kept  up  in  full  English  sporting  style,  the  one 
at  Washington,  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  by  the  gentle- 
men of  the  British  legation,  while  Sir  Richard  Vaughan 
was  at  the  head  of  it,  the  other  at  Montreal  by  the  British 
residents  and  the  officers  of  the  garrison.  They  languished, 
however,  in  an  uncongenial  clime,  and  year  by  year  were 
less  and  less  strenuously  supported,  until  both  have,  I  be- 
lieve, fallen  into  total  abeyance. 

In  the  southern  States,  where  the  seasons  are  not  so  un- 
propitious  to  the  sport,  where  the  properties  are  much 
larger,  vested  in  fewer  hands,  and  owned  for  the  most  part 
by  the  wealthier  classes,  who  themselves  constitute  the 
sporting  population,  as  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  fox- 
hunting is  still  carried  on,  to  some  extent,  by  the  planters ; 
though  with  none  of  that  accuracy  of  detail  and  complete- 
ness of  appointment  which  attach  to  it,  and  render  it  so 
magnificent,  both  as  a  spectacle  and  a  sport,  in  England ; 
and,  it  is  believed,  with  decreasing  spirit  and  smaller  favor, 
even  in  the  imperfect  manner  which  there  obtains. 

In  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  some  of  the  south- 
western States,  deer-hunting  on  horseback  with  packs  of 
hounds  prevails ;  but  even  there  the  shot  gun  is  the  modus 


36  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

operandi,  and  the  object  of  the  hunter  is  to  get  a  killing 
shot,  not  to  ride  across  the  open  to  a  long  and  slashing 
run,  and  to  be  in  at  the  death,  when  the  quarry  is  pulled 
down  by  the  pack  at  the  end  of  a  gallant  chase.  Bears 
are  also  hunted  in  the  same  style  with  packs  of  blood- 
hounds in  Louisiana,  Mississippi  and  Arkansas,  but  there 
the  rifle  does  the  execution,  and  the  slaughter  of  the  game 
by  that  instrument,  not  the  rapture  of  the  pursuit,  is  the 
end  and  aim  of  the  pursuer. 

The  only  sport  which  bears  any  considerable  analogy 
to  hunting,  as  it  is  practised  in  Great  Britain,  is  the 
coursing  of  the  stag  or  elk  with  greyhounds,  as  it  is, 
within  the  last  few  years,  beginning  to  be  considerably 
practised  in  some  of  the  western  prairie  States;  for  in 
that,  as  in  the  English  chase,  the  pursuit  of  animal  by 
animal,  the  hunters  and  the  hunted  both,  for  the  most 
part  in  full  view,  and  the  keeping  them  in  sight  by  the 
speed  of  horses  and  by  skill  and  daring  in  equestrianism, 
are  the  sources  of  enjoyment  and  the  ultimatum  to  be 
obtained. 

Still,  this  phase  of  the  sport  being  yet,  as  it  were,  in 
its  infancy,  few  hounds  of  the  peculiar  race  requisite  being 
thus  far  introduced,  and  the  pursuit  itself  rather  excep- 
tional than  of  common  practice,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
hunting,  in  the  European,  and  more  particularly  British 
sense  of  the  word,  is  not  an  American  field  sport.  The 
pursuit  of  the  larger  animals  of  game,  where  they  exist, 
as  the  deer,  the  bear,  the  elk,  the  moose,  the  cariboo,  and 
perhaps  I  may  add,  the  turkey;  although  it  is  usually 
known  in  common  parlance  as  hunting,  is  not  properly 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW    TO   CHOOSE   IT.  37 

such,  but  comes  under  one  of  three  heads, — "  stalking," 
which  is  here  generally  termed  still-hunting,  where  the 
animal  is  followed  by  his  sign,  left  on  the  soil,  or  on  the 
trees  and  coppice  which  he  may  have  frayed,  by  the  aid 
of  the  eye  and  experience  in  woodcraft  and  the  habits  of 
the  quarry  alone,  without  the  assistance  of  hounds — 
"  stable-stand,"  where  the  sportsman,  taking  his  station  at 
the  intersection  of  deer-paths,  at  a  haunted  salt-lick,  or  at 
a  well-ascertained  watering  place,  awaits  the  voluntary 
advent  of  the  animal,  when  he  shall  be  impelled  to  move 
by  the  solicitation  of  his  own  instincts— or,  lastly,  "  dog- 
draw,"  where,  posting  himself,  as  before,  in  such  place  as 
he  judges  likely  to  be  passed  by  the  fugitive,  the  shooter 
expects  its  coming  when  driven  by  slow  hounds,  who  have 
drawn  for  it,  and  aroused  it  from  its  lair,  under  the 
guidance  of  his  servants  or  companions. 

The  last  terms  "  dog-draw  "  and  "  stable-stand,"  have 
long  ceased  to  be  sporting  words  in  England,  those 
methods  of  taking  game  having  long  fallen  into  disuse  as 
sport ;  and  the  latter  being  practised  rarely  by  the  park- 
keeper,  only  in  killing  the  half-tame  fallow  deer  for  the 
table — an  animal,  which  is  no  more  looked  to  for  sport,  or 
regarded  as  a  beast  of  chase,  than  a  south-down  sheep,  or 
a  fatted  calf. 

They  were,  however,  common  in  the  olden  time,  when 
a  large  portion  of  Great  Britain  was  still  covered  with  the 
natural  forest,  in  which  the  wild  animals  roamed  nearly 
unmolested,  preserved  by  rigorous  forest  statutes,  and 
obtainable  only  as  game  for  the  table,  by  shooting  them, 
in  one  of  the  two  methods  described,  with  the  cross-bow, 


38  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

which  then  played,  though  less  effectually,  the  part  of  the 
unerring  rifle. 

Shooting  is,  therefore,  as  I  have  said,  with  one  arm  or 
other,  the  head  and  front  of  all  American  field  sports ; 
since  but  one  species,  the  fox,  and  that  only  in  one  or  two 
States,  and  in  them  but  partially  and  exceptionally,  is 
pursued  and  killed  for  sport,  without  the  use  of  firearms. 
While  every  other  animal,  which  we  follow  for  the  excite- 
ment of  the  pursuit,  or  for  the  sake  of  its  flesh  on  the 
table,  from  the  gigantic  moose  and  formidable  grizzly  bear 
to  the  crouching  hare,  from  the  heaven-soaring  swan  or 
hawnking  wild-goose  to  the  "  twiddling  "  snipe,  is  brought 
to  bag  by  means  of  the  rifle,  the  fowling-piece,  or  the 
ducking-gun;  and  to  his  thorough  acquaintance,  and 
masterly  performance,  with  one  or  all  of  these,  in  his  own 
line,  the  rank  of  the  sportsman  must  be  mainly  attributed, 
and  his  claim  to  preeminence  ascribed. 

I  say,  mainly  attributable ;  because,  although  there 
are  many  other  qualifications  which  go  to  constitute  the 
accomplished  sportsman,  and  without  which,  though  he  be 
the  best  and  surest  marksman  that  ever  drew  a  trigger  or 
squinted  over  a  brown  barrel,  he  has  no  right  to  arrogate 
to  himself  the  title  of  a  true  sportsman,  it  is  on  this  that 
he  must  rely. 

These  qualifications  may  be  named  generally,  as  the 
art  of  breaking  dogs,  of  managing  them  in  sickness  or  in 
health,  in  the  kennel  or  in  the  field — the  perfect  acquaint- 
ance with  the  habits,  food,  feeding-grounds,  breeding  sea- 
sons, migrations  and  haunts  or  habitations  of  those 
animals,  whether  of  fur  or  feather,  which  are  the  objects 


THE   GUN,   AND   HOW    TO   CHOOSE   IT.  39 

of  his  pursuit ;  and,  beyond  these,  the  possession  of  gen- 
eral information  as  to  all  the  ruses,  stratagems,  and  re- 
sources adopted  in,  and  adapted  to,  the  life  of  a  hunter, 
which  assist  him  not  only  in  his  first  object,  the  overcom- 
ing or  circumventing  the  victim  on  which  he  is  intent,  but 
on  providing  for  the  well-being  and  comfort,  the  subsist- 
ing and  conditioning,  both  in  and  after  the  chase,  in  the 
forest  or  on  the  prairie,  of  himself  and  his  companions, 
brute  or  human,  quadruped  or  biped. 

Still,  essential  as  all  these  things  are  to  the  character 
of  the  real  and  thoroughbred  forester,  they  are  all  of  no 
avail,  unless  he  be  skilful,  prompt,  swift,  steady,  deliber- 
ate and  sure  with  the  shot-gun  or  the  rifle,  at  all  shots, 
running,  flying,  bounding,  crossing  him  to  the  right  or 
left,  going  from  him,  coming  toward  him,  or  at  rest. 

For  of  what  use  shall  it  be  to  him,  though  he  have 
the  finest,  the  most  thoroughbred,  the  best-broken,  the 
stanchest  and  fleetest  dogs ;  though  he  bring  them  into 
the  field  in  the  best  condition  of  stoutness  and  of  nose; 
though  he  be  so  well  acquainted  with  the  propensities  and 
natural  history  of  the  game  he  may  be  in  search  of,  that 
he  know  almost  as  it  were  instinctively,  at  each  season  of 
the  year,  or  at  each  hour  of  the  day,  on  what  ground  to 
look  for  it,  where,  almost  to  a  certainty,  to  find  it,  how  to 
mark  it  down,  whither  to  follow  it  up,  how  to  bring  his 
dogs  upon  its  scent,  to  the  best  advantage ;  if  when  it  be 
found,  or  flushed  upon  the  wing,  or  started  from  its 
covert,  he  cannot  bring  it  down  from  its  flight,  or  stop  it 
from  its  course  in  full  career. 

I  have  known  many  men  in  my  life,  both  on  this  side 


40  MANUAl,  FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

and  the  other  of  the  Atlantic,  who  have  kept  dogs  which 
they  could  not  hunt,  horses  which  they  could  not  ride, 
guns  out  of  which  they  could  not  shoot ;  lovers,  or  at 
least,  pretended  lovers  of  a  sport,  which  they  assuredly 
could  not  pursue  to  any  profit,  nor,  so  far  as  I  can  imagine, 
to  any  possible  pleasure ;  who  have  yet  fancied  themselves, 
and  even  been  called  by  others — who  knew  even  less  about 
it  than  they  did  themselves — sportsmen.  But,  though  I 
may  have  been  willing  to  give  them  credit  as  good  fellows 
and  promoters  of  sport  for  the  benefit  of  others,  I  never 
could  be  induced  to  prostitute,  by  bestowing  it  on  such  as 
they,  the  noble  appellation  in  which  all,  who  have  the 
right  to  bear  it,  rejoice  with  so  legitimate  a  pride  and 
pleasure. 

This  being  admitted,  therefore,  it  will  necessarily  fol- 
low that  the  first  thing  to  be  done  by  the  person  aspiring 
to  be  a  sportsman  is,  to  provide  himself  with  a  good  and 
effective  weapon,  and  next,  to  obtain  proficiency,  in  the 
highest  degree  possible,  in  its  use. 

To  both  these  ends,  therefore,  I  shall  devote  a  few 
pages  of  instruction,  founded  on  long  experience,  and 
tested  to  my  own  satisfaction,  at  least,  by  the  only  sure 
proof  of  practice. 

I  shall  begin  by  assuming,  what  it  needs  no  argument 
to  establish,  that  for  game-shooting  of  smaller  animals  on 
the  field,  there  is  but  one  weapon ;  the  double-barrelled 
percussion  shot  gun.  For  the  most  inveterate  supporters 
of  the  old  flash-in-the-pan,  flint-and-steel  system  have  long 
ago  been  compelled  to  abandon  their  prejudices  on  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  41 

subject,  and  to  conform  to  the  progressive  improvement  of 
the  arm,  or  to  fall  behind  the  genius  of  the  age. 

It  cannot  be,  perhaps,  denied  that,  in  point  of  force 
and  range,  the  flint  and  steel  had  some  advantage  over 
the  percussion  fowling-piece ;  for  the  charge  being  more 
slowly,  was  more  thoroughly  ignited,  so  that  nearly  every 
grain  of  powder  in  the  load  was  burned  before  the  shot 
was  expelled  from  the  barrel ;  whereas  it  is  now  not  by 
any  means  uncommon  to  find — as  one  may  clearly  observe 
by  firing  a  gun  over  new-fallen  snow — at  least  one  half  of 
the  quantity  driven  out  of  the  barrel,  unconsumed,  and 
of  course  useless. 

The  other  advantages  of  quickness,  certainty  of  dis- 
charge, sureness  in  all  weather,  in  fogs  or  rain,  or  at  sea, 
accuracy  of  aim,  absence  of  smoke  from  the  priming  which 
often,  especially  in  damp  days,  prevented  a  second  shot, 
and  instantaneousness  of  explosion,  so  vastly  counterbal- 
ance the  only  existing  drawback,  that  no  man  in  his  senses 
would  think  of  using  a  flint-and-steel  gun,  when  another 
could  be  procured. 

Even  in  military  service,  where  the  obstinacy  of  rou- 
tine and  the  economy  of  governments  always  cause  im- 
provements to  be  most  slowly  adopted,  and  old  exploded 
systems  to  be  most  pertinaciously  upheld,  the  percussion 
system  has  every  where  been  adopted  ;  and  in  view  of  this 
and  the  other  improvements,  as  to  range  and  accuracy,  in 
the  new  arms,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  any  body  of 
men  armed  with  the  old  soldier's  musket,  the  far-famed 
brown  Bess,  of  the  commencement  of  the  present  century, 
must  be  annihilated  in  spite  of  all  advantages  of  courage. 


42  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

strength  or  discipline,  if  opposed  to  troops  armed  with 
percussion  and  breech-loading  ramie-rifles,  which  do  not 
miss  fire  once  in  fifty  shots,  and  carry  as  many  hundreds 
of  yards,  with  accuracy,  as  their  predecessors  did  paces. 

No  one,  again,  it  is  presumed,  who  can  afford  the  price 
of  a  double  gun,  would  be  content  to  shoot  with  a  single, 
unless  for  ducking,  where  weight  length  and  bore  of  such 
magnitude  are  required,  as  to  render  two  barrels  unhandy 
if  not  absolutely  unmanageable ;  since  a  fair  shot  will  kill 
at  least  a  third  more  game  in  a  day's  shooting,  beside 
doing  it  in  far  more  beautiful  and  artistic  style  with  a 
double  than  with  a  single  fowling-piece. 

The  prettiest  thing  in  the  art  of  shooting,  and  that 
which  is  the  result  of  the  highest  skill  and  practice,  so  that 
it  may  be  regarded  as  nearly  the  perfection  of  sportsman- 
ship, is  the  killing  double-shots  accurately,  cleanly,  and  in 
fine  dashing  style ;  and  I  have  never,  certainly,  seen  a  per- 
son, who  had  any  real  claim  to  be  considered  a  crack-shot, 
or  a  fine  working  sportsman,  who  used  a  single  barrel, 
after  he  bad  attained  years  of  maturity,  and  had  become 
a  master  of  his  craft. 

For  boys,  just  beginning  to  acquire  the  art  of  shooting, 
single  guns  are,  in  some  respects,  preferable,  because  they 
can  be  manufactured  of  sufficient  strength,  bore,  and  solid- 
ity, to  shoot  well  at  fair  distances,  yet  sufficiently  light 
to  be  managed  by  juvenile  limbs  ;  where  a  double  gun  not 
too  heavy  to  be  brought  up  to  the  shoulder  cleverly  by  a 
boy,  must  be  either  a  mere  plaything  and  pop-gun,  or,  if 
of  sufficient  calibre  and  length  to  be  at  all  effective,  must 
be  so  lightly  put  together  and  so  deficient  in  metal,  as  to 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  4:3 

be  absolutely  dangerous.  It  is,  moreover,  perhaps  a  trifle 
more  difficult  to  learn  to  take  aim  over  a  single  barrel, 
the  double  hammers  tending,  in  some  degree,  to  guide  the 
eye  along  the  elevation,  so  that  when  the  young  sportsman 
is  promoted  to  the  height  of  his  ambition,  the  possession 
of  a  double-barrel,  he  will  readily  come  into  its  use,  and 
find  it,  apart  from  its  superior  weight,  the  easier  of  the  two 
to  direct  rapidly  and  effectively  toward  its  object. 

There  is,  moreover,  clearly,  less  danger  of  accident, 
which  is  a  matter  calling  for  much  attention  from  begin- 
ners, where  there  is  only  a  single  trigger  to  be  drawn  and 
a  single  explosion  to  be  guarded  against.  A  very  effective 
gun  of  fourteen  gauge  and  twenty-eight  inches,  with  a  bar 
lock,  capable  of  doing  its  work  cleanly  and  well  at  forty 
yards,  can  be  turned  out,  not  to  exceed  five  pounds  in 
weight,  at  a  reasonable  price.  Whereas  a  double-barrel 
of  the  same  weight  could  not  be  manufactured  of  any  thing 
like  responsible  materials,  strength  and  solidity,  of  a  cali- 
bre to  exceed  eighteen  or  twenty,  with  a  length  of  two 
feet ;  a  very  useless  and  inefficient  tool,  incapable  of  oper- 
ating, with  any  certainty,  beyond  twenty-five  or  thirty 
yards ;  and  one  necessarily  useless  for  any  purpose,  after 
its  owner  shall  have  acquired  power  to  wield  the  weapon 
of  a  man;  whereas  the  single  piece  of  the  same  weight 
would  always  retain  its  utility,  and  be  a  handy  and  ser- 
viceable gun  for  ordinary  purposes. 

The  first  thing  desirable,  then,  for  every  sportsman, 
I  hold  to  be,  to  furnish  himself  with  the  best  and  most 
available  gun,  as  an  instrument,  suited  to  the  purpose  for 
which  he  requires  it,  at  a  price  suited  to  his  means. 


M  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

First,  the  gun  must  be  a  good  one  in  itself,  well  built, 
of  good  materials,  strong,  sound,  and  safe  by  the  excel- 
lence of  metal  and  superiority  of  finish,  which  also  produce 
efficient  carrying  of  its  charge,  rapid  firing,  and  clean 
killing. 

Secondly,  the  gun  must  particularly  suit  the  indi- 
vidual owner ;  for  one  gun  will  no  more  suit  all  men,  than 
one  coat  will  fit  all  wearers ;  and  no  man  can  any  more 
shoot  well  with  a  gun  that  does  not  come  readily  to  his 
shoulder  and  fairly  to  his  eye,  than  he  can  be  at  ease  in  a 
coat  two  sizes  under  his  fit,  or  walk  a  foot-race  in  boots 
that  pinch  him.  According  to  the  length  of  the  shooter's 
arms  and  neck,  must  be  the  length  and  curvature  of  the 
stock,  from  the  heel-plate  to  the  breech ;  and  that  which 
constitutes  a  perfect  Jit,  if  I  may  use  the  word  in  reference 
to  a  gun,  is  this — that  its  weight  being  in  due  proportion 
to  the  size,  strength,  and  comfort  of  the  shooter,  when  it 
is  raised  deliberately  to  the  shoulder,  the  right  hand 
grasping  the  gripe,  with  its  fore-finger  on  the  trigger,  and 
the  left  hand  supporting  the  barrels  immediately  in  front 
of  the  trigger  guard,  it  shall  come  so  justly  and  handily 
to  the  face,  that,  the  cheek  being  naturally  lowered,  with- 
out consideration  or  adjustment,  the  eye  may  clear  the 
level  of  the  breech,  and  at  once  find  the  sight  at  the  end 
of  the  barrels,  precisely  on  its  own  level.  If  the  eye, 
above  the  breech,  find  any  part  of  the  barrel  in  view 
between  itself  and  the  sight,  the  stock  is  certainly  too 
straight ;  and  possibly  too  short  also.  If  the  sight  appear 
sunk  below  the  breech,  and  it  be  necessary  to  advance  the 
left  hand,  and  so  elevate  the  muzzle,  in  order  to  bring  it 


THE   GUN,    AND    HOW   TO   CHOORK    IT.  45 

into  the  plane  of  vision,  the  stock  is  certainly  too  crooked, 
and  not  improbably  too  long.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
eye  palpably  over-ranges  the  breech,  or  fails  to  reach  it 
when  the  head  is  naturally  couched  to  the  aim,  the  stock 
is,  in  the  first  place,  manifestly  too  short,  in  the  second, 
as  much  too  long. 

An  ordinary  shot  will,  by  no  possibility,  shoot  decently 
well  with  a  gun  defective  on  either  side.  A  very  crack 
shot,  indeed,  perfectly  deliberate,  and  carrying  all  his  ex- 
perience and  practice  continually  in  his  mind,  will,  after  a 
few  shots,  probably,  so  adapt  his  aim,  by  elevating  his  line 
of  sight,  or  by  depressing  the  muzzle  of  his  piece,  as  to 
kill  his  shots;  but  he  will  never  do  so  in  his  usually 
beautiful,  sharp,  clean,  unhesitating  style — for  the  posture 
of  his  head  will  necessarily  be  forced  and  unnatural ;  the 
gun  will,  as  necessarily,  not  hold  its  correct  natural  posi- 
tion and  purchase  against  the  hollow  of  his  shoulders ; 
and,  furthermore,  the  shooter  will  be  obliged  constantly  to 
adjust  his  aim  and  search  about  for  his  object ;  instead  of 
finding  it  precisely  in  its  proper  relative  position  to  his 
eye,  as  soon  as  the  butt  touches  his  shoulder. 

This  fitness  of  a  gun  to  the  shooter,  can  only  be  ascer- 
tained by  himself,  how  little  soever  he  may  know  about  a 
gun ;  and  he  must  not  think  of  selecting  a  friend,  how 
competent  a  judge  of  fire-arms  soever,  to  choose  for  him, 
in  this  particular ;  though,  in  all  other  regards,  he  will  be 
unwise,  indeed,  if  he  do  not  obtain  and  defer  to  judgment. 

Whether  the  gun  comes  truly  to  his  shoulder  and  eye. 
he  must  try  himself,  and  he  may  easily  do  it — thus : 

Let  him,  wearing  any  easily-fitting  coat,  accustomed  to 


46  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

his  shape,  and  buttoned  at  the  throat,  place  himself  in  a 
natural  position,  having  the  left  foot  advanced  about 
eighteen  inches ;  let  him  seize  the  gripe  of  the  gun,  as  I 
have  described  above,  with  the  right  hand,  having  its  fore- 
finger on  the  trigger  ;  let  him  place  the  left  hand  edgewise, 
under  the  barrel,  immediately  in  front  of  the  trigger  guard, 
with  which  his  palm  will  be  in  contact ;  and  keeping  his 
muzzle  directly  in  front  of  him  and  his  butt  below  his  right 
elbow,  hold  his  right  hand  close  to  his  hip.  Thus,  let  him 
raise  the  piece,  steadily  and  deliberately,  so  that  the  heel- 
plate shall  be  brought  evenly  and  firmly  in  contact  with 
the  hollow  of  the  shoulder,  and  bend  his  head  naturally, 
without  any  effort  or  attempt  at  adjustment,  to  the  cheek- 
piece  of  the  stock.  Then,  if  the  gun  suit  the  holder,  the 
eye  will  find  itself  accurately  laid  on  the  level  of  the 
breech,  and  the  sight  will  meet  its  first  glance,  as  if  it  rose 
from  the  base,  instead  of  the  muzzle  of  the  gun ;  for  the 
whole  length  of  the  elevated  rib,  along  which  the  eye 
ranges,  being  exactly  on  the  plane  of  the  breech,  howso- 
ever elevated  or  depressed,  will  be  as  completely  unseen 
as  if  it  had  no  existence. 

Consequently,  when  a  deliberate  point-blank  aim  is 
taken  at  a  lifeless  or  motionless  object,  all,  of  which  tfie 
eye  will  be  conscious,  is  the  breech  of  the  piece,  with  the 
metallic  sight  rising  above  it,  and  set  off  by  the  substance 
of  the  mark  aimed  at,  as  if  by  a  background  immediately 
in  contact  with  it. 

If  this  be  not  the  case,  without  a  second  adjustment  of 
the  aim,  after  the  gun  shall  be  brought  to  the  face — much 
more  if  it  cannot  be  made  to  be  the  case  at  all,  owing  to 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  4:7 

an  incorrigible  variance  of  its  build  to  the  formation  of  the 
shooter — the  gun  may  be  thrown  aside ;  and  farther  trials 
resorted  to,  until  a  piece  be  found  possessing  the  necessary 
length  and  curvature  of  the  stock. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  pull  on  the  trigger  necessary 
to  the  release  of  the  tumbler,  should  be  tested,  and  ascer- 
tained to  be  agreeable  to  the  finger  and  nerve  of  the  in- 
tended purchaser. 

The  way  of  ascertaining  the  exact  force  requisite  to 
discharge  the  gun,  is  to  hold  it  muzzle  upward  at  full  cock, 
when  the  weight  attached  to  the  trigger,  which  will  cause 
the  hammer  to  fall,  is  the  measure  of  power  needful. 

This  power  is  very  variable.  In  bad,  ill-finished,  ill- 
filed  and  insufficiently  burnished  locks,  it  is  ex  necessitate 
great.  In  coarse  military  weapons,  intended  for  the  use 
of  men  with  hard,  heavy  hands,  insensitive,  nervous  systems, 
and  dull  natures,  as  ordinary  fighting  men,  the  pull  is  in- 
tentionally made  heavy ;  in  order  to  counteract  the  occur- 
rence of  accidental  discharges.  The  power  required  for 
the  drawing  the  trigger  of  an  old-fashioned  soldier's  mus- 
ket varies  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  pounds.  That  for  the 
firing  of  the  most  highly  finished  and  best  London  made 
fowling-piece  is  from  four  to  four  and  a  half  pounds ;  that 
of  a  hair-trigger  about  one  to  one  and  a  half  pounds. 

Common  Birmingham,  or  German  guns,  are  exceed- 
ingly various  in  this  respect,  ranging  from  two  to  ten  or 
twelve  pounds  power. 

Now,  it  must  be  remembered,  that,  while  too  heavy  a 
pull  annoys  the  firer,  frustrates  his  aim,  and,  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  causes  him  to  overshoot  his  mark ;  too  light  a 


48  MANUAL   FOR   YCHNO   SPORTSMEN. 

pull  is  dangerous,  since  a  lock  which  works  so  easily  as  at 
two  pounds  pressure,  or  under,  is  liable  to  be  put  in  mo- 
tion by  an  unconscious  touch,  or  even  by  a  jar  from  a 
touch  or  fall.  In  common,  low-priced  guns,  such  easiness 
is  invariably  owing  to  weakness  and  deficiency,  and  always 
augurs  danger. 

To  the  beginner,  this  attention  to  the  pull  is  compara- 
tively a  matter  of  indifference  ;  since  his  unmade  finger 
readily  forms  and  adapts  itself  to  any  pull.  Still,  it  is  advi- 
sable that  he  should  early  accustom  himself  to  the  true  pull, 
which  he  must  one  day  adopt.  At  first,  it  is  well  to  use 
rather  a  hard-going  gun,  say  of  four  or  five  pounds  pressure, 
but  no  higher.  It  is  easy  to  come  down  from  a  heavy  to  a 
light  pull,  but  almost  impossible  to  make  the  other  ex- 
change. 

The  best  shot,  who  was  ever  born,  and  who  had  been 
accustomed  for  half  a  life  to  triggers  of  four  pounds  power, 
would  not  be  able,  after  daily  practice  for  sis  months,  to 
shoot,  up  to  his  own  force,  with  triggers  of  eight  or  ten 
pounds.  Both  triggers  of  a  double  gun  should,  moreover, 
yield  to  precisely  the  same  pressure ;  and,  if  a  man  desire 
to  shoot  equally  and  evenly,  all  his  guns,  pistols,  and  rifles 
should  go  accurately  to  the  same  pull,  even  his  heavy 
ducking  guns — stancheon  or  punt  guns  alone  excepted, 
which  for  reasons  hereafter  to  be  stated  require  a  hard  and 
heavy  hand  :  hair-triggers,  for  all  field  purposes,  I  utterly 
eschew.  If  a  rifleman  cannot  shoot  close  enough  with  a 
four  pound  pull,  he  will  not  do  so  with  a  hair-trigger. 

More  shots  in  the  field  are  missed  by  too  rapid,  than 
by  too  slow  firing.  Nervousness  and  excitement  are,  nine 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  49 

times  out  of  ten,  the  cause  of  missing;  and,  whether  on 
the  duelling  ground,  or  in  the  sporting  field,  the  bravest 
and  coolest  man  will  be  a  shade  more  hasty  and  excited, 
than  in  the  shooting  gallery  or  the  target  ground.  There- 
fore, no  hair-triggers  for  me  ! 

Now,  then,-  it  has  been  shown  briefly,  and  I  trust  com- 
prehensively, above,  how  to  choose  a  gun  in  reference 
solely  to  its  peculiar  fitness  and  adaptation  of  form,  length, 
weight,  manageableness,  &c.,  to  the  individual  purchaser, 
wholly  apart  from  its  intrinsic  goodness  of  metal,  work- 
manship, finish  or  effectiveness.  If  it  be  of  such  weight 
that  he  can  handle  it  readily  and  rapidly,  and  can  carry 
it  without  fatigue  during  a  long  and  hot  day's  shooting — 
if  it  come  up  truly  and  quickly  to  his  eye — if  its  trigger 
yield  to  a  pull  which  requires  no  jerk  or  effort,  in  the 
first  instance,  the  gun  may  be  said  to  suit  the  person. 

Of  its  intrinsic  value  much  more  remains  to  be  said. 
I  do  not  by  any  means  propose,  in  this  place,  to  follow 
the  example  of  many  of  my  predecessors  in  the  composi- 
tion of  works  of  this  order,  an  example  I  think  "  more 
honored  in  the  breach  than  the  observance,"  in  attempting 
an  elaborate  description  of  the  various  kinds  of  metal,  the 
varieties  of  workmanship,  much  less  the  manifold  processes 
used  in,  or  applied  to,  the  manufacture  of  fowling-pieces ; 
or  in  pretending  to  disclose  all  the  various  tricks  of  the 
trade,  and  to  show  how  the  latter  may  be  certainly  de- 
tected by  the  purchaser. 

Were  I  to  undertake  the  first,  I  should,  in  all  proba- 
bility, show  myself  incapable  of  the  task ;  for  few  amateur?, 
even  of  those  the  best  informed,  are  competent  to  describe, 
3 


50  MATSTTTAT.    FOK    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

perhaps  to  comprehend,  the  materials  and  mechanism  of  a 
first-rate  gun ;  although  they  may  be  perfectly  capable  of 
deciding  on  the  quality  of  the  gun  when  manufactured. 
If  I  should  succeed  in  explaining  these  matters  correctly, 
it  is  still  very  certain  that  the  best  of  such  explanations 
convey  but  a  limited  degree  of  information  to  readers,  and 
necessarily  fail  of  enabling  them  to  judge  for  themselves. 
I  know  few  cases  in  which  the  old  saying,  "  that  a  little 
knowledge  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  is  more  justly  evinced 
than  this.  A  little  knowledge  will  probably  suffice  to 
render  the  possessor  of  it  satisfied  of  his  own  ability  to 
choose  for  himself;  and,  rejecting  the  aid  of  experience,  he 
will  probably  get  cheated  for  his  pains. 

It  is,  in  fact,  a  very  difficult  task  for  any  person,  from 
inspection,  to  detect  with  absolute  certainty  the  nature  of 
the  metal  of  which  the  barrels  are  composed.  In  old 
times  horseshoe-nails,  wrought  into  wire  or  ribbon  form, 
and  welded  together,  were  the  basis  of  what  were  then 
the  best  barrels,  known  as  stub-twist.  The  use  of  horse- 
nails  has  latterly  decreased,  owing  to  the  deterioration  of 
the  iron  used  in  their  formation ;  and  old  carriage  springs 
of  wrought  steel,  mixed  with  Wednesbury  iron,  which  is 
generally  used  and  known  in  the  trade  as  stub-iron,  are 
now  principally  adopted  for  the  manufacture  of  the  best 
ordinary  twisted  barrels.  "  Grunmakers  themselves,"  says 
an  accurate  and  able  English  writer  on  field-sports,  Stone- 
henge,  in  his  manual  of  British  Rural  Sports,  "  are  often 
deceived ;  and  therefore  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
no  inspection,  which  an  amateur  can  make,  will  detect  the 
defect  iu  the  quality  of  the  iron  or  workmanship.  No  one 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW    TO    CHOOSE    IT.  51 

should  buy  a  cheap  gun,  who  values  his  life  or  limbs ;  at 
all  events,  he  should  be  careful  to  have  the  recommenda- 
tion of  some  one  who  really  understands  his  business, 
before  he  trusts  to  one." 

It  is  my  own  opinion,  that  the  only  way  by  which  one 
can  be  morally  certain — physically  one  can  not  be  certain 
of  the  quality  of  a  gun — is  by  dealing  with  a  house  of 
established  character  and  reputation,  who  have  therefore 
credit  to  lose  and  name  to  sustain.  And  by  the  word 
house,  be  it  understood,  I  mean  gunsmiths  or  gunmakers, 
and  not  importing -hardware-man's  house.  From  the 
former,  if  he  state  frankly  the  manner  of  gun  he  desires, 
the  price  to  which  he  means  to  go,  and  leave  himself  to 
the  just  dealing  of  the  firm,  the  purchaser  will  probably, 
in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  be  fairly  dealt  with  and  well- 
suited.  From  the  latter,  do  what  he  may,  he  never  will, 
and  never  can,  obtain  a  safe  or  decent  piece ;  because 
such  men  do  not  themselves  know  any  thing  about  the 
quality  or  character  of  the  guns  they  are  selling,  merely 
purchasing  them  iu  the  lump,  by  invoice,  according  to 
sample,  to  sell  again  singly  at  ten  dollars,  or  at  fifty,  or  at 
a  hundred,  each,  including  all  the  intermediate  prices ; 
all  being  guns  precisely  of  the  same  intrinsic  worth,  but 
valued  at  more  or  less,  according  as  they  are  filed  down, 
French  varnished,  damascened  by  aid  of  acids,  tricked  out 
with  German  silver,  and  fitted  up  complete  with  velvet- 
lined  cases  and  all  appurtenances  and  means  to  boot,  from 
the  wholesale  furnishing  shops  of  Birmingham,  and  its 
vicinity. 

A  good  judge  of  a  gun,  by  careful  examination  of  all 


52  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

its  parts ;  of  its  finish,  engraving,  the  filing,  buffing,  and 
working  of  its  locks,  and  by  testing  its  firing,  will  be 
able  to  pronounce,  with  something  nearly  approaching 
to  certainty,  on  the  value  of  a  fine  gun ;  and,  from 
its  value  and  its  finish,  to  satisfy  himself  whether  it 
be  or  be  not  turned  out  of  the  shop  of  the  builder 
whose  name  it  professes  to  bear ;  since,  be  it  known, 
the  names  of  makers  of  guns  are  forged  much  more 
easily,  much  more  frequently,  and  with  much  less  risk 
of  detection,  or  of  punishment  if  detected,  than  are  those 
of  the  makers  of  securities  and  powers  of  attorney. 

I  have  certainly  seen  many  hundreds  of  guns,  un- 
questionably short  of  three  English  pounds  sterling  value, 
to  the  original  Birmingham  wholesale  manufacturer,  bear- 
ing the  names  of  Richards,  Lancaster,  Moore,  and  Joe 
Manton,  sold  in  the  United  States,  and  shown  by  the  pur- 
chasers as  authentic  productions  of  those  makers,  at  prices 
varying  from  50  to  150  dollars;  for  no  one  of  which 
would  I  have  given  a  ten-dollar  bill — and  this  in  the  teeth 
of  the  fact,  which  every  one  knows,  or  might  know,  if  he 
chose  to  learn,  that  not  one  of  those  makers  ever  sold  a 
gun  at  home,  for  much  less  than  twice  the  largest  sum 
mentioned. 

Now,  having  satisfied  himself,  by  examination  of  the 
finish,  and  by  fixing  the  actual  value  of  the  gun,  that  it  is 
the  work  of  such  and  such  a  maker — which,  if  much 
acquainted  with  the  work  of  eminent  makers,  he  will  do 
the  more  readily,  that  all  of  these  have  in  some  sort  a 
peculiar  style  and  character  of  their  own — an  amateur 
may  at  once  rest  content,  that  the  workmanship  is  not  out 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  53 

of  proportion  to  the  goodness  of  the  material ;  and,  in 
short,  that  the  weapon  is,  -what  it  assumes  to  be,  first-rate. 

For  instance,  an  amateur,  who  is  a  tolerable  judge,  can 
easily  recognize  a  lock  of  the  first  and  finest  quality,  and 
distinguish  between  it  and  one  even  slightly  inferior,  on  a 
very  cursory  examination.  So  he  can  judge,  also,  posi- 
tively of  the  finish,  fitting,  and  mechanism  of  every  part 
of  the  stock,  there  being  nothing  in  the  whole  gun  where- 
in the  hand  of  the  master  more  clearly  renders  itself 
visible.  Xow,  if  the  locks  and  stock  be  manifestly  of 
first-rate  quality  and  workmanship,  if  they  show  in  those 
niceties,  for  which  every  judge  knows  where  to  look,  the 
skill  of  the  cunning  craftsman,  the  appearance  of  the 
barrels  outwardly  corresponding  to  the  details  of  the  rest, 
the  purchaser  need  not  fear  but  that  there  is  "  that  within 
that  passeth  show  " — for  it  is  not  the  habit,  nor  would  it 
be  worth  the  while  of  any  workman  to  bestow  labor  of  the 
most  costly  description,  that  which  is  the  best  paid,  and 
to  be  procured  with  the  most  difficulty  at  any  terms,  on 
materials  intrinsically  valueless. 

Again,  it  is  only  gunmakers  of  the  superlative  class, 
who  can  command  or  furnish  such  work ;  and  their  charac- 
ter and  interest  must  alike  prohibit  them  from  the  practice 
of  low  rascality,  which  must  be  ultimately,  and,  to  them- 
selves ruinously,  detected.  Thus,  undoubtedly,  many  an 
old  sportsman  of  intelligence  and  observation,  who  has  had 
the  advantage  of  long  experience  of  the  works  of  a  num- 
ber of  distinguished  gunmakers,  who  has  compared  them 
with  one  another,  and  contrasted  them  against  the  highly- 
finished  pretending  shams  of  the  furnishing  shops,  and  the 


54:  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN!. 

mere  rubbish  of  the  Birmingham,  German,  and  Belgian 
wholesale  manufactories,  will  readily  decide  on  the  value 
of  a  gun  in  all  respects,  including  the  quality  of  the 
metal,  and  the  unseen  workmanship  of  the  barrels.  In 
the  latter  respect,  however,  his  opinion  will  be  induced 
mainly  by  analogous  reasoning,  and  not  by  indirect  scien- 
tific judgment ;  though,  of  course,  he  will,  even  in  this  re- 
spect, fully  appreciate  the  difference  between  fine,  common, 
and  very  inferior  work. 

As  to  what  is  the  best  quality  of  modern  barrels,  the 
difference  of  opinion  is  so  great,  that  it  may  almost  be 
said  that  no  two  sportsmen  are  of  the  same  mind.  Every 
species  of  barrel,  cast-steel,  laminated  steel,  damascus- 
twist,  stub-twist,  has  its  admirers  and  defamers;  all  of 
whom  are  charged  by  their  adversaries  with  deciding,  and 
many  of  whom  probably  do  decide  in  many  cases,  as  much 
from  prejudice,  as  from  sound  judgment.  Many  believe  ex- 
clusively in  laminated  steel  barrels ;  others  hold  them  to 
be  utterly  valueless  and  dangerous.  Some  adhere  to  the 
stub-and-twist ;  while  others,  again,  admitting  that  these 
were  of  old  the  best  of  all,  assert  that,  the  stub-nail  iron, 
having  lost  its  original  high  quality,  the  new  substitutes 
have  outstripped  them.  In  the  same  manner,  some  persons 
prefer  fine  wire-twist,  some  damascus-twist,  and  so  on. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  I  have  not  my  own 
opinions,  though  I  do  not  wish  to  set  up  for  infallibility, 
or  to  assert  that  I  have  no  possible  bias,  although  as- 
suredly I  am  not  aware  of  any ;  and,  for  such  opinions  as 
I  have,  I  can  in  some  sort  assign  a  reason. 

My  own  preference   is,  I   confess,  for  the  stub-twist 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW    TO    CHOOSE    IT.  55 

barrels,  now  as  of  old,  as  the  strongest,  safest,  and,  above 
all,  the  least  easy  in  which  to  be  deceived ;  and  if  it  be 
admitted  that  the  modern  stub-iron  is  inferior  in  toughness 
to  the  old  horse-nail  stuff — which,  however,  I  cannot  hold 
to  be  sufficiently  proved — I  still  consider  it,  when  of  the 
best  quality,  to  be  of  superior  tenacity,  and  consequently 
a  safer  metal,  than  even  the  best  laminated  steel.  I  am 
aware  that  this  opinion  of  mine  is  diametrically  opposed  to 
that  of  the  advocates  of  the  steel  barrels,  and  that  tables 
and  scales  of  tenacity  and  endurance,  as  proved  by  experi- 
ment, have  been  published,  leading  to  a  different  conclu- 
sion ;  but  it  is  well  known  that  great  changes  take  place 
in  the  crystallization  of  metals  and  the  arrangement  of 
their  component  particles,  long  after  they  have  become 
perfectly  cool,  and  indeed  long  after  they  have  been  in 
use,  which,  according  to  one  theory,  causes  these  changes. 
These  changes,  it  is  admitted,  when  they  occur,  render  the 
metal  vastly  more  brittle  than  it  was  in  the  first  form,  and 
consequently  dangerous. 

Now  I  am  not  satisfied  that  the  trials,  on  which  the 
alleged  comparative  tenacity  of  laminated  steel  is  assumed, 
have  been  carried  far  enough,  in  relation  to  time ;  and  I 
am  all  but  entirely  convinced,  that  dangerous  cases  of 
bursting  have  been  more  frequent,  and,  when  they  have 
occurred,  more  complete  and  terrible,  in  the  laminated 
steel  barrels  of  the  highest  quality  and  price,  than  in  any 
other  description  of  barrels  of  equal  supposed  and  guar- 
anteed quality.  I  am  certain  it  is  more  difficult  to  judge 
by  their  exterior  appearance  of  what  they  are  made,  than 
it  is  of  anv  other  work. 


56  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

The  latter  objection,  also,  militates  strongly  against 
the  damascene-twist  barrels,  which  may  be,  and  are  so 
exactly  imitated  by  means  of  etching  with  acid,  and  high- 
finishing  afterward,  that  it  will  puzzle  the  best  amateur 
to  pronounce  positively  which  is  the  real  and  which  is  the 
imitated  article. 

It  is  further  alleged,  that  in  twisting  and  re-twisting 
the  metallic  threads  to  the  degree  necessary  to  produce 
the  beautiful  wavy  appearance,  which  procures  for  this 
species  of  work  the  name  of  damascus — as  if  it  were  analo- 
gous to  the  celebrated  method  of  scymitar-making,  now 
lost,  which  it  is  known  not  to  be — the  tenacity  of  the 
separate  fibres  is  destroyed.  This  question  I  leave  to  the 
expert,  not  being  sufficiently  informed  to  venture  an 
opinion.  The  fact,  however,  that  there  is  an  apparently 
reasonable  doubt  existing  among  those  best  capable  of 
speaking  to  the  book,  as  to  the  toughness  and  tenacity  of 
the  component  parts  of  these  two  species  of  metal,  and  as 
danger  is  inextricably  connected  with  error,  I  judge  it 
best  to  hold  to  the  safe  side ;  the  rather,  that  no  one 
will  deny  imposition  to  be  both  easier,  and  of  more 
common  occurrence  in  these,  than  in  any  other  form  ^of 
barrels. 

It  tells,  also,  disadvantageously  for  the  damascened 
twist,  that  one  rarely,  if  ever,  sees  one  by  any  of  the 
great  London  or,  even  Birmingham  houses.  I  am  cer- 
tain that  I  have  never  seen  a  damascus-twist  gun  by 
Punday,  Manton,  Moore,  Lancaster,  or — I  think — Westley 
Richards ;  though  I  will  not  say  that  none  such  exist. 
Their  rarity,  however,  goes  to  indicate  that  they  are  not 


THE    GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  57 

approved  by  those  makers.  Laminated  steel  guns  I  have 
certainly  seen  of  rare  beauty  and  finish,  and  of  excellent 
performance,  by  many  makers  of  high  standing  and  repu- 
tation ;  as  Greener,  Ellis,  Dean  and  Adams,  and  others ; 
still,  in  truth,  I  can  only  say  I  do  not  like  them — 

timeo  Danaos  et  dona  ferentes. 

I  have  seen  Belgian  guns,  the  best,  I  think,  of  all  the 
Belgian  work  I  have  met,  of  the  damascened  twist,  which, 
to  a  sound  and  safe  appearance,  have  united  good  per- 
formance, and  have  stood  well  in  service.  But  I  have 
never  seen  any  foreign  European  work,  which  for  per- 
formance in  the  field  and  in  long  endurance  can  compare 
with  the  best  English.  Le  Page,  of  Paris,  turns  out, 
unquestionably,  the  best  French  work.  I  have  seen  little 
Belgian,  and  no  German  work,  I  mean  on  fowling-pieces, 
not  rifles  or  pistols,  which  I  would  care  to  own. 

In  reference  to  laminated  steel  and  damascus-twist 
barrels,  I  will  state  here  one  fact,  which  may  be  of  use 
to  novices,  and  on  the  correctness  of  which  they  n.ay  rely. 
Exceedingly  cheap  guns  of  both  these  descriptions,  are  to 
be  found  in  every  hardware  and  every  gunsmith's  shop. 
These  are,  invariably,  shams  of  the  worst  and  most 
atrocious  kind — infinitely  worse  than  the  common  rubbish, 
for  the  most  part,  which  professes  to  be  little  more  than 
rubbish ;  since  the  very  catchpenny  frippery  and  fret- 
work are  merely  put  on  to  cover  flaws  and  conceal  the 
real  fibre  of  the  metal.  There  never  was  such  a  iJiing 
made  in  the  world,  as  a  low-priced,  damascened  twist  or 
3* 


58  MANUAL   FOR   YOTTNG    SPORTSMEN. 

laminated  steel  barrel.  The  labor  necessary  to  produce 
them  real,  causes  them  of  necessity  to  be  dear.  There- 
fore, if  a  cheap  one  be  offered  to  the  merest  tyro,  let  him 
instantly  reject  it,  without  a  second  glance ;  and  as  he 
values  his  life,  let  him  not  fire  it  off. 

I  do  not,  of  course,  mean  to  say  that  every  cheap  gun 
must  necessarily  burst ;  but  I  do  say  that,  against  each 
one,  severally,  the  odds  are  heavy  that  it  will,  at  some 
time  or  other,  apart  from  any  carelessness  of  the  shooter, 
fail  in  some  part  of  its  mechanism  ;  and  then,  woe  to  the 
holder.  No  length  of  acquaintance  with  such  a  gun,  no 
goodness  of  its  performance — and  I  have  seen  some  for 
which  I  would  not  have  given  a  dollar,  and  which  I  would 
not  have  fired  for  a  hundred,  shoot  more  than  passably — 
can  justify  the  slightest  confidence  in  it.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  more  times  one  may  have  fired  it  with  impunity, 
so  much  the  greater  are  the  odds  against  him  that  he  will 
do  so  again ;  as  any  one  would  say  of  a  person  who  should 
undertake  to  draw  the  fusee  of  a  live  shell  with  his  teeth, 
or  to  lie  down  on  a  railroad  track  before  the  engine,  iu  the 
expectation  of  being  picked  up  safely  by  the  cow-catcher. 

By  the  word  loio-priced  guns,  I  mean,  as  a  general  rule, 
in  reference  to  buying  a  safe  and  serviceable  piece,  any- 
thing like  new,  with  two  barrels  and  the  smallest  show  of 
exterior  ornament,  cheaper  than  fifty  dollars. 

Of  the  mere  rubbish  of  the  German,  and  nameless 
English  wholesale-murder-manufactories,  sold  at  prices 
varying  from  three  to  twenty  dollars,  it  is  almost  useless 
to  write;  since  it  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that  any  one, 
who  reads,  ever  thinks  of  buying  such.  They  are  mere 


THE    GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  59 

cast-iron,  in  all  parts,  except  the  lock-springs,  and  I  should 
about  as  soon  fire  one  with  a  reasonable  charge,  as  I  would 
hold  a  hand-grenade  in  my  fingers  until  it  should  explode. 

My  opinion,  preference  and  recommendation,  therefore, 
are  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  best  English  stub-and-twist 
barrels  that  can  be  obtained  for  the  price  the  individual 
sportsman  can  command ;  of  which  I  shall  speak  anon.  It 
may  be  presumed,  I  suppose,  that  every  person  who  has 
the  taste  and  means  to  follow  field-sports  at  all,  intends  to 
follow  them  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  and  to  fit  himself 
out  with  the  best  appliances  and  outfit  his  circumstances 
will  command.  Not  because  I  take  it  for  granted,  with 
old  Izaak  Walton  and  some  modern  enthusiasts,  that  a 
sportsman  is  of  necessity  a  larger-hearted  and  freer-handed 
fellow  than  his  neighbor — for  I  must  acknowledge  to 
having  been  cognizant,  in  my  day,  of  some  very  bitter 
screws  among  sportsmen,  though,  on  the  whole,  I  think 
they  may  claim  to  be  above  average — but  because  it  is 
manifestly  for  their  interest  and  their  pleasure,  for  once, 
in  their  case  synonymous,  to  be  so. 

I  shall,  therefore,  proceed  to  speak  of  the  work  pro- 
duced by  different  makers,  of  different  localities ;  first,  in 
their  relative  scale  of  excellence ;  second,  in  their  relative 
scale  of  price.  Lastly,  I  shall  state  my  own  views  as  to 
the  comparative  ratio  of  excellence  and  price  combined ; 
and  the  method  of  purchasing  suitably  to  comparative 
pockets.  It  must  be  remembered,  that,  in  all  this,  I  pro- 
fess only  to  give  my  own  opinions,  not  to  claim  for  them 
infallibility,  or  even  superiority  to  the  opinions  of  others. 
1  have  had  some  experience,  and  some  opportunities  of 


60  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

judging,  and  according  to  these,  I  have  formed  conclusions 
which  I  believe — as  most  men  do  of  their  own  conclusions—' 
to  be  correct  and  sound.  These  I  proceed  to  give,  some- 
times with  reasons  in  brief,  sometimes,  where  to  reason 
would  be  too  long,  simply  as  conclusions,  for  the  benefit 
of  those  who  have  either  formed  no  opinions  at  all,  or  hold 
them  in  abeyance,  subject  to  farther  experience. 

I  wish  to  interfere  with  no  man's  notions,  which  are 
his  own  peculiar  property ;  and  with  no  man's  legitimate 
business — the  sale  of  condemned  and  perilous  fire-arms  I 
do  not  esteem  a  legitimate  business — and  this  I  think  it 
well  here  to  state,  because,  some  years  since,  I  was  assailed 
in  a  most  ungentlemanly  and  unjust  manner  by  anonymous 
scribblers,  in  various  journals — most  of  them  directly  set 
on  by  persons  who  were  interested  in  the  sale  of  articles 
to  which  I  did  not  choose  to  award  praise;  some  doubtless 
actuated  by  mere  prejudice  in  favor  of  some  old  gun  of 
their  own,  and  consequently  of  its  maker — for  presuming 
to  recommend  certain  guns,  made  by  a  certain  maker,  all 
of  which,  by  the  way,  have  given  the  hig'iest  satisfaction 
to  their  purchasers,  and  for  recording  my  preference  of 
London  to  provincial  English  makers. 

This  preference,  I  again  beg  most  distinctly,  and  if 
possible,  more  distinctly  than  before,  to  record.  And  I 
am  fully  aware  and  confident  that  no  sportsman,  who  ever 
owned  a  first-class  gun,  made  by  a  first-class  London  ma- 
ker, ever  did  or  ever  will  exchange  it  for  any  other  gun 
in  the  world.  And  that  no  sportsman,  who  has  examined 
and  tried  the  two  articles,  and  whose  pocket  will  afford 
the  expense  of  the  London  maker's  gun,  will  ever  order 
one  from  the  best  provincial. 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  61 

The  reason  of  this  superiority  of  the  London  makers, 
is  easy  to  be  discovered.  London  concentrates  the  largest 
number  of  the  wealthiest  men  and  the  best  sportsmen  and 
judges,  consequently  of  the  largest  and  best  buyers  in  the 
kingdom,  probably  in  the  world — men  who  will  have  noth- 
ing but  what  is  the  best,  and  will  have  the  best,  whatever 
it  may  cost. 

Therefore,  the  most  ambitious,  enterprising,  intelligent, 
best,  master-gunmakers  make  London  their  head-quarters ; 
they,  finding  that  nothing  but  the  best  work  will  do,  and 
that  for  it  they  can  realize  the  best  prices,  must  have  the 
best  workmen  to  execute  that  work,  and,  to  have  the  men, 
must  pay  the  best  prices,  and  do  so. 

Hence  the  most  intelligent  and  best  mechanics  are  con- 
stantly drawn  from  the  provinces  to  the  metropolis ;  and 
so  soon  as  any  one  becomes  known  as  a  fine  craftsman  in 
any  division  of  the  work,  he  is  sought  for,  and  knowing  that 
he  can  command  larger  wages  in  London,  beside  a  wider 
sphere  of  fame,  than  he  can  in  his  province,  at  once  moves 
thither ;  for  it  needs  not  to  premise  that  no  man  works 
for  small  wages,  who  can  command  large,  for  the  same 
amount  of  labor. 

Hence,  London  work  is  necessarily,  naturally,  and  by 
admission  of  the  most  competent  judges,  the  best ;  and 
comparatively,  that  of  the  highest  reputed  and  highest 
priced  London  makers  is  the  best  of  London  work.  For, 
although  we  may  say  fashion  has  much  to  do  with  it.  very 
few  men  of  the  very  richest — unless  they  chance  to  be 
natural  fools — will  prefer  giving  sixty  to  forty  guineas  for 
any  article  of  purchase,  unless  they  honestly  believe  the 


62  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

sixty-guinea  article  to  be  intrinsically  worth  its  value 
above  that  which  they  can  buy  for  forty. 

Generally,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  sixty-guinea 
maker  pays  higher  wages  than  his  competitor  who  sells 
for  forty.  It  may  be  answered  the  price  is  sustained  by 
the  name.  Be  it  so  ;  the  name  must  have  been  originally 
gained  by  something  beyond  luck — for  luck  never  made  a 
fowling-piece ;  and  by  that  something  which  gained  it,  the 
name  must  be  sustained.  That  something  is  superior 
workmanship — in  all  such  houses  the  best  of  material  may 
be  assumed — and  I  believe  fully  that  the  workmanship  of 
the  highest  priced  is  superior  to  that  of  the  lower  priced 
London  maker,  in  full  proportion  to  the  superiority  of  his 
charges ;  and  I  believe  the  same  thing  to  be  yet  more 
clearly  the  case,  as  between  the  London  and  the  provincial 
maker. 

I  perceive  that  this  opinion  is  not  likely  to  be  the 
popular  one,  for  there  are  of  course  fifty  men,  especially  in 
this  country,  who  will  buy  a  Westley  Richards  gun  for 
two  hundred  dollars,  where  there  is  one  who  will  buy  a 
London  gun  for  twice  that  sum.  And  as  every  man  who 
owns  a  gun,  believes  it,  and  is  prepared  to  maintain  it,  to 

H 

be  the  best  gun  in  the  world ;  therefore  there  are  always 
fifty  best  Westley  Richards  guns,  where  there  is  one  best 
London  gun.  Again,  every  gunmaker  so  soon  as  he  ascer- 
tains that  his  customer  will  go  as  high  as  the  price  of  a 
Westley  Richards',  but  cannot  be  possibly  induced  to  rise 
to  a  London  value,  assures  him,  in  the  most  positive  man- 
ner, that  Westley  Richards'  guns  are  in  every  respect  equal 
to  Purday's,  or  whose  you  will ;  and  that  the  difference  is 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW    TO    CHOOSE    IT.  63 

mere  fancy  and  fashion.  It  is  true  that,  so  soon  as  he  has 
gone  out  of  the  shop  with  his  bit  of  Birmingham,  the  seller 
will  laugh  at  what  he  has  just  been  saying  with  the  man 
who  happens  to  be  buying  copper  caps  for  the  London 
gun,  which  he  imported  the  other  day  on  his  own  hook. 
But  then  the  buyer  of  the  bit  of  Birmingham  does  not 
hear  the  laugh. 

Therefore,  dear  reader,  I  believe  the  best  gun  is  that 
which  you  can  buy  of  the  best  London  maker,  for  some- 
thing between  fifty  and  sixty  pounds  sterling ;  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  dollars,  including  case 
and  appurtenances,  made  to  your  own  order. 

The  London  makers,  stated  by  Stonehenge,  in  the 
work  quoted  above,  of  the  present  year,  1856,  to  be  repu- 
ted the  first,  are,  alphabetically  placed,  Lancaster,  Lang, 
Moore,  Purday.  The  second  is  somewhat  cheaper  than 
the  others ;  but  Stonehenge  rates  his  work  at  cash  prices; 
and  it  is  well  known  that  all  makers  give  a  discount  for 
that  indispensable  article.  Purday  has,  perhaps,  the  widest 
reputation.  I  have  my  own  favorite,  as  every  sportsman 
naturally  has ;  but  as  the  preference  is,  perhaps,  more  in 
taste  than  in  stern  judgment, — 

"  Between  two  blades,  which  has  the  better  temper," 

it  is  not  desirable  to  insist  on  it.  From  any  of  the  four, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  an  undeniable  piece  may  be  pro- 
cured. 

Many  of  the  old  names,  famous  in  the  gun  trade,  arc 
extinct,  or  exist  as  names  only ;  the  present  owners  of 


64  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

them  having  no  relationship  to  the  departed  worthies,  nor 
has  the  mantle  descended  on  the  pretenders. 

To  those  who  cannot  afford  the  London  prices,  then  I 
recommend  the  best  provincial  makers  of  England,  unless 
they  prefer,  as  I  should,  to  build  a  gun  in  America,  under 
my  own  eye,  at  the  best  provincial  price. 

Of  the  provincial  gunmakers,  the  best,  probably,  and 
at  all  events  the  most  generally  known,  is  Mr.  Westley 
Richards ;  for  it  is  idle,  although  he  has  a  London  estab- 
lishment, with  Mr.  Bishop  at  its  head,  to  speak  of  him  as 
a  London  gunsmith,  since  his  guns  are  notoriously  made 
and  finished  at  Birmingham,  and  sold  at  Birmingham 
prices.  Mr.  Richards'  guns  are  well  liked,  and,  as  it  is 
evident  from  the  general  favor  in  which  he  is  held,  give 
satisfaction ;  I  have  seen  many  handsome,  well-finished, 
and  strong-shooting  guns  from  his  shop,  though  the  tout 
ensemble  of  their  fitting  and  finish  does  not,  as  in  fact  it 
cannot  be  expected  to,  come  up  to  the  highest  priced 
London  guns. 

My  greatest  objection  to  his  guns  is,  that  I  think  I 
have  observed  them  to  be  soft.  I  do  not  mean  soft- 
metalled,  for  that  I  regard  as  a  merit,  not  a  defect ;  but 
incapable  of  enduring  hard  usage,  and  liable  to  yield  and 
give  out  disproportionately  soon,  as  considered  in  refer- 
ence to  their  price  relatively  to  London  guns.  So  far  am 
I,  however,  from  desiring  to  disparage  his  work,  that,  for 
persons  who  cannot  afford  to  pay  £50  or  upward  for  a 
Purday,  a  Lancaster,  or  a  Moore,  or  who  consider  that 
price  enormous  and  absurd,  as  I  know  that  some  men  do, 
I  have  nothing  better  to  recommend,  than  that  they  should 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW   TO    CHOOSE    IT.  65 

send  their  order,  for  exactly  such  a  piece  as  they  require, 
accompanied  by  the  precise  measure  of  a  stock  which  suits 
them,  to  Mr.  Bishop  of  Bond  Street,  when  they  will  pro- 
bably procure  what  will  satisfy  them,  as  well  as  the  others 
would  satisfy  me,  at  a  far  lower  price.  What  the  exact 
price  of  Westley  Kichards'  best  guns  is  at  this  moment,  I 
do  not  accurately  know ;  but  I  presume  that  it  is  from 
£30  to  £35,  from  150  to  175  dollars,  with  case  and  appur- 
tenances, not  including  freight  or  duties;  which  would 
bring  his  best  work  here  to  the  price  of  two  hundred  dol- 
lars, more  or  less.  Mr.  Lang's  best  double  gun  is  stated 
by  Stonehenge  to  be  sold,  in  case  complete,  for  £38,  or 
190  dollars,  cash  on  the  spot ;  and  he  further  asserts,  that 
"  certainly  it  will  be  admitted  that,  for  all  the  essentials 
desired  by  the  crack  shot,  Mr.  Lang's  gun  may  lay  claim 
to  as  high  a  standard  as  those  of  any  of  his  rivals." 

Besides  Mr.  Richards,  there  are  other  Birmingham 
makers,  who  turn  out  reputable  work  to  order,  and  who 
are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  perpetrators  of  the 
detestable  rubbish  which  finds  its  way  into  the  United 
States,  and  is  sold  at  almost  every  price  from  one  dollar 
to  one  hundred. 

Every  principal  shire-town  in  England,  or  nearly  so, 
has  some  maker  of  high,  at  least,  local  celebrity  ;  and  some 
of  these,  as  Parsons  of  Salisbury,  Cartmel  of  Doncaster, 
Patrick  of  Liverpool,  and  others,  whose  names  I  do  not 
remember,  have  become  known  and  of  good  repute 
throughout  England.  Others  have  doubtless  succeeded  to 
these,  since  I  have  been  a  dweller  in  America,  but  little 
of  their  work  has  been,  or  is  likely  to  be,  imported ;  and 


66  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

no  person  is  likely  to  come  in  contact  with  their  work,  un- 
less he  casually  visit  the  spot  of  their  operations,  and  be 
tempted  of  his  own  choice  to  purchase.  It  is  needless, 
therefore,  to  consider  these. 

Below  a  hundred  dollars  I  would  counsel  no  man  to 
buy  an  imported  gun.  There  is  a  sort  of  gun,  manufac- 
tured even  by  the  best  London  makers,  called  a  game- 
keeper's gun,  at  £15  sterling,  or  75  dollars,  entirely  plain, 
without  engraving  or  any  external  finish.  The  locks  are 
sound,  well-working,  and  perfectly  finished,  though  desti- 
tute of  course  of  the  last  exquisite  sharpness,  smoothness 
and  ring,  which  at  once  speak  for  the  first-rate  gun.  The 
barrels  are  stub-twist,  and  may  be  relied  on  for  solidity, 
safety,  and  excellent  performance.  I  shot  with  one  of 
these  guns,  in  1849,  during  a  tour  on  the  Great  Lakes, 
and,  though  it  had  not  certainly  much  beauty  to  brag  of 
it  executed  beautifully  and  at  long  ranges,  and  was  pro- 
nounced by  "  Dincks,"  a  very  competent  judge,  the  best 
low-priced  gun,  and  the  cheapest  gun,  he  ever  saw.  At 
my  advice,  a  small  number  of  these  guns  was  sent  out 
hither,  for  sale,  at  the  lowest  possible  price ;  that  is  to  say 
without  any  importer's  profit,  commissions  or  the  like ;  and 
those  of  them  which  found  purchasers,  gave  the  greatest 
satisfaction.  Their  unpretending  appearance,  however, 
the  incompetency  of  buyers  to  distinguish  their  real  su- 
periority to  the  lacquered  trash  of  the  Birmingham  hard- 
waremen,  and  above  all,  the  interested  opposition  of  the 
vendors  of  such  trumpery — who  caused  them  to  be  written 
down  by  hireling  scribblers,  principally  in  the  country 
presses,  though  some  of  their  lucubrations  found  their  way 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  67 

into  the  Spirit  of  The  Times — prevented  the  success  of  the 
experiment ;  and  such  guns  never  now,  and  probably  never 
will,  again,  find  their  way  into  this  market,  even  if  or- 
dered expressly. 

Nevertheless,  no  gentleman  visiting  London,  and  de- 
siring to  procure  a  cheap,  servicable,  safe,  though  plain 
gun,  can  possibly  do  better  than  call  on  any  one  of  the 
makers  I  have  mentioned — Lancaster,  Lang,  Moore  or 
Purday,  and  ask  for  a  gamekeeper's  gun.  If  he  be  a 
sportsman,  and  do  not  get  a  working  tool  up  to  his  mark, 
he  will  be  hard  to  please;  but  he  must  not  expect  any 
ornament,  or  any  thing  approaching  to  the  high  finish,  or 
close  and  accurate  fitting  of  pieces  of  four  times  its  value. 

For  all  guns  of  one  hundred  dollars,  or  under,  I  would 
earnestly  advise  all  purchasers  to  have  their  own  guns  made 
to  order  in  the  American  Atlantic  cities,  by  American  gun- 
makers  of  standing  reputation.  It  will  be  understood, 
that  the  locks  and  barrels  are  all  English  made  and  Eng- 
lish bored,  though  neither  filed  nor  finished ;  and  that  they 
can  be,  and  are,  got  up  in  New  York,  by  several  perfectly 
good  and  trustworthy  workmen,  in  any  style,  from  fifty  to 
two  hundred  dollars;  and  I  presume,  and  indeed  under- 
stand, that  the  other  principal  seaboard  cities  of  the  Union 
are  not  far  behind  New  York  in  this  particular. 

I  have  seen  guns  manufactured  by  Henry  Tomes  &  Co. 
and  by  Henry  T.  Cooper,  while  he  was  in  business,  for 
150  dollars,  which,  in  all  respects,  I  would  myself  have 
preferred  to  any  one  of  Westley  Richards'  at  any  price; 
and  I  can  cheerfully  and  truthfully  say  the  same  for  guns 
of  all  descriptions,  made  by  either  of  those  excellent  me- 


68  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPOBTSMEN. 

chanics,  John  and  Patrick  Mullin  of  New  York,  while  I 
have  seen  and  handled  guns  at  75  and  50  dollars,  by  the 
former  of  the  two  makers  last  named,  which  I  would  have 
preferred  to  any  hardware-shop  Birmingham  gun,  by  a 
nameless  maker,  with  all  its  paraphernalia,  at  any  possible 
price. 

His  fifty-dollar  guns,  of  30  inch  barrel  and  14  gauge, 
are,  in  point  of  real  utility,  excellent,  serviceable,  cheap, 
and  perfectly  safe  arms.  The  purchaser  can  see  them  in 
the  rough,  before  they  are  filed  or  finished,  and  see  of 
what  metal  and  stuff  they  are  made ;  or,  if  he  be  at  a  dis- 
tance, can  commission  his  friend  or  agent  to  do  so  for  him. 
The  gun  will  not  possess  the  finish,  the  lock  will  not  work 
with  the  same  unimprovable  oiliness,  soundness  and  clear- 
ness, as  the  lock  of  a  three-hundred-dollar  imported  gun, 
nor  will  its  barrels,  probably,  throw  the  shot  with  the 
same  equality  and  regularity  of  distribution  or  force.  Its 
details  will  not  be  as  accurate,  nor  its  joints  and  fittings 
as  unimpeachable.  But,  if  held  straight,  it  will  kill  its 
game,  sure  and  dead,  at  thirty-eight  or  forty  yards ;  and 
what  is  much  better,  it  certainly  will  not  kill  its  owner — 
which,  be  it  said,  with  all  deference  to  Messieurs  the  im- 

x 

porters  thereof,  cannot  be  predicated  of  any  gun  that  ever 
was  imported  at  any  such  price. 

Every  dollar  over  50  and  up  to  150,  will  produce  a 
dollar's  worth  of  actual  improvement,  and  intrinsic  value 
in  the  article ;  but  when  we  get  beyond  the  hundred  and 
fifty,  the  farther  advance  is  for  external  show.  I  know 
nothing  beyond  that,  but  if  it  seem  good,  to  try  Richards1 
at  £35  sterling,  with  the  duties  added — though  I  would 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW    TO    CHOOSE    IT.  69 

rather  have  the  Mullin — or  to  go  at  once  to  head-quarters 
and  get  a  London  fifty-guinea,  on  whose  shooting  you  may 
wager  your  life,  with  the  certainty  of  winning,  and  of  the 
gun  shooting  as  well  fifty  years  hence,  as  on  the  day  of 
purchase.  As  Peter  Probasco  said  to  J.  Cypress,  jr.,  in 
the  fisher's  hut  at  Fire  Islands,  "  Them's  my  sentiments, 
and  you  knows  'em  !  " 

I  said  in  the  opening  of  this  subject,  that  the  double- 
barrelled  fowling-piece  is  the  only  weapon  and  ultimatum 
of  art  for  the  sportsman.  No  greater  number  of  barrels 
than  two  can  be  combined,  so  as  to  produce  a  manageable 
and  effective  piece ;  nor  if  there  could,  would  the  crack 
shot,  once  in  twenty  times,  use  a  third  barrel  at  three 
different  birds,  much  less  fire  thrice  at  one.  Than  a  crack 
shot,  no  other  possibly  could  do  so — if  it  be  considered, 
how  quickly  a  bevy  of  quail,  all  taking  wing  simul- 
taneously, get  out  of  the  range  of  shot,  and  how  rarely, 
when  they  do  spring  all  together,  even  two  barrels  bring 
down  their  two  birds  clean  killed. 

All  revolvers  for  sporting  shot  guns  are  out  of  the 
question ;  for  more  time  is  lost  in  recocking  and  revolving 
the  chamber,  than  could  be  recovered  by  the  quickest  shot 
in  time  to  kill  even  a  second,  much  less  a  third  or  fourth 
bird ;  besides  which,  the  weapons  are  unpardonably  clumsy 
hideous,  and  unsportsmanlike,  and  fail  entirely  of  execu- 
tion as  compared  with  ordinary  chambered  guns.  Stone- 
henge  gives  a  cut  and  description  of  a  new  breech-loading 
double  gun,  invented  by  a  Frenchman,  and  improved  by 
Mr.  Lang,  in  which  the  barrels  are  raised  from  their  con- 
nection with  the  false  breech,  by  the  turning  of  a  crank, 


70  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

and  expose  the  lower  end  of  their  calibre  for  the  reception 
of  a  cartridge  containing,  in  itself,  the  percussion  cap,  the 
powder,  and  the  charge  of  shot,  with  a  small  brass  pin, 
impinging  on  the  percussion  powder,  attached  to  it,  which, 
when  the  loaded  barrels  are  again  brought  into  their  pro- 
per position  and  connection,  stands  up  in  a  notch  between 
them  arfd  the  false  breech  made  to  receive  it,  and  meeting 
the  blow  of  the  striker,  discharges  the  gun. 

Stonehenge  speaks  of  this  gun  in  terms  of  strong 
praise,  and  states  his  opinion,  that  "  if  as  good  in  practice 
as  it  appears  to  him  theoretically  perfect,  its  invention 
will  be  almost  as  great  an  era  in  gun  making  as  that  of 
the  detonator  itself." 

This  language  and  praise  are  to  me  alike  inexplicable. 
This  gun  has  no  nipple,  no  possibility  of  being  loaded  or 
fired  except  with  the  identical  cartridge  prepared  for  it, 
which  is,  and  can  be,  only  prepared  at  the  shop  which 
supplies  the  gun.  It  is  true,  he  says,  that  the  cartridge 
cases  remain  in  the  gun,  and  on  withdrawal  can  be  recapped 
and  recharged  many  times;  but,  apart  from  the  incon- 
venience of  lugging  about  on  your  person  a  hundred  or 
two,  if  you  expect  a  good  day's  sport,  of  these  cartridges 
— since  the  idea  of  a  sportsman  sitting  down  in  the  middle 
of  a  snipe-bog  or  a  cock-brake,  to  recharge  his  cartridges 
out  of  a  powder-and-shot  magazine,  which  he  must  also 
carry  about  with  him,  is  preposterous — what  on  earth  is 
the  shooter  to  do,  if  he  takes  it  into  his  head  to  visit  the 
Himalayas,  or  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Canada  or  the  Cape, 
or  any  other  distant  shooting  ground  (by  no  means  impos- 
sible to,  or  unattempted  by  the  British  sportsman),  where 


THE   GUN,    AND    HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  71 

cartridges  for  Lang's  breech-loading  double-barrels  cer- 
tainly are  not  to  be  found  growing  on  thorn  bushes  ?  Is 
he  to  carry  with  him,  in  heaven's  name,  a  hundred  barrels 
of  cartridges  on  camel-back,  or  mule-back,  or  his  own 
back,  with  the  consciousness  that  these  indispensables, 
once  used  up,  his  double-barrel  is  of  less  use  even  than  a 
broomstick  ? 

The  want  of  simplicity  is  enough  to  ruin  any  inven- 
tion ;  and  this,  it  needs  no  prophet  to  foretell,  must  be 
inoperative,  except  as  a  pretty  plaything  to  be  used  at 
home. 

The  gain,  moreover,  I  should  fancy  from  his  drawing, 
is  next  to  nothing;  and  I  should  judge  that  a  quick  smart 
loader  would  recharge  both  his  barrels  by  the  muzzle  with 
a  good  flask  and  Sykes's  patent-lever  pouch,  and  cap  them 
in  the  ordinary  way,  while  his  comrade  is  turning  the  crank, 
withdrawing  the  old  cartridges,  replacing  the  new — which 
by  the  way  can  only  be  done  correctly  under  the  eye,  and 
hardly  by  touch — and  bringing  back  the  barrels  to  their 
place. 

The  advantage  in  point  of  time  can  be  scarcely,  then, 
worthy  of  notice ;  and  no  gain  of  time  is  in  truth  requi- 
site, in  the  case  of  shot  guns.  They  can  be  loaded,  fired, 
reloaded  and  retired,  in  the  ordinary  way,  quite  as  rapidly 
as  for  ordinary  purposes  can  ever  be  needed ;  and  this 
every  one  knows,  who  has  ever  been  present  at  an  English 
battue,  or  has  been  obliged  to  sit  down,  as  I  have,  a  dozen 
times  at  least  in  my  life,  in  the  middle  of  a  snipe-meadow, 
or  of  scattered  bevies  of  quail,  to  let  my  barrels  cool, 
before  I  have  dared  to  reload  them. 


72  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

For  rifle-shooting,  especially  in  warfare,  or  in  hunting 
on  horseback,  where  the  loss  of  time,  the  labor  and  incon- 
venience of  forcing  a  patched  ball  down  a  tight,  and,  per- 
haps foul,  grooved  barrel,  is  great,  the  case  is  quite  differ- 
ent. The  gain  is  incredible,  and  the  improvement,  in  fact, 
tantamount  to  the  creation  of  a  new  weapon. 

But,  as  applied  to  shot  guns.  I  know  but  one  case,  in 
which  breech-loading  is  desirable ;  namely,  in  very  long, 
ponderous  and  unmanageable  duck  guns,  where  it  is  dim- 
cult  to  reach  the  muzzle  and  insert,  much  more  drive 
home,  the  loading  rod ;  and  most  of  all,  in  the  stancheon 
or  punt  gun,  which  is  fired  like  a  cannon  from  a  carriage. 
Here  the  breech-loading  system  would  work  admirably, 
but  it  must  be  on  Perry's  patent-arm  plan,  of  which  I 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  more  anon,  where  the  cham- 
ber can  be  loaded  with  loose  powder  and  shot  as  easily  as 
with  the  cartridge,  and  the  nipples  capped  by  hand,  almost 
as  readily  as  by  the  self-priming  apparatus  connected 
with  it. 

With  regard  to  the  weight,  length,  and  calibre  of 
double-barrelled  fowling-pieces,  there  has  always  been  and 
continues  to  be  much  diversity  of  opinion. 

The  sticklers  for  the  old  system  adhere  pertinaciously 
to  the  long  barrel  and  small  bore,  the  length  to  be  in- 
creased as  the  calibre  is  enlarged.  The  upholders  of  the 
extreme  modern  school  insist  on  gauges,  such  as  were 
never  heard  of  in  the  olden  times,  and  barrels  proportion- 
ately short;  maintaining  that  they  will  carry  heavier 
charges  with  equal  execution,  and  vastly  increased  handi- 
ness,  especially  in  covert. 


THE   GTTN,   AND  HOW   TO  CHOOSE  IT.  73 

The  old  rule  of  proportion  was  46  or  48  diameters  of 
the  bore  to  the  length  of  the  barrel ;  and  on  this  Col. 
Hawker  insists,  consistent  to  the  last,  in  his  latest  edition; 
advising  that  a  gun  of  fourteen  gauge  should  never  be  less 
than  thirty-four  or  thirty-six  inches  in  length,  and  that 
thirty-two  inches  is  the  proportion  for  a  twenty-two  guage. 
I  do  not  doubt  that,  for  the  mere  carrying  of  shot,  the  ex- 
treme length  will  keep  the  charge  together  longer,  and, 
consequently,  that  a  three-foot  barrel  will  throw  its  shot 
more  regularly  and  evenly  at  sixty  yards,  than  one  of  two 
foot  eight ;  and  that  a  twenty-two  gauge  gun  of  thirty-two 
inches  length,  will  do  so  in  a  yet  greater  degree. 

Therefore,  if  carrying  shot  to  a  great  distance,  say  60 
yards,  evenly,  without  reference  to  the  quantity  thrown, 
or  any  other  consideration,  be  the  test,  a  gun  of  twenty-two 
gauge  and  thirty-two  inches  would  be  the  best  in  the 
world ;  but  a  gun,  of  twenty-two  guage  and  thirty-two 
inches,  would  not  be  of  above  5  Ibs.  weight,  and  should 
not,  at  the  utmost,  be  loaded  with  above  1^  drachms  of 
powder  and  f  ounce  of  shot — which  shot  ought  never  to 
be  above  No.  6  or  7.  In  other  words,  it  would  be  a 
mere  child's  plaything  and  pop-gun.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  gun  of  fourteen  gauge,  at  the  same  proportion  of 
gauge  to  length,  should  be,  not  as  he  recommends,  three 
feet,  but  three  feet  7,  inches,  and  would  probably  weigh 
about  twelve  pounds.  The  colonel's  advice,  therefore, 
to  use  a  thirty-four  or  thirty-six  inch  barrel  with  a 
gauge  of  fourteen,  is,  in  itself,  a  compromise,  founded  on 
the  sacrifice  of  force  to  ease  of  handing;  since  it  would 
have  been  clearly  preposterous  to  tell  men  to  go  out  cock- 
4 


74:  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

shooting  with  guns  six  feet  long,  weighing  twelve  or  four- 
teen pounds. 

But  a  much  farther  compromise  is  necessary,  and  it  is 
now  pretty  generally  conceded  that  the  best  and  most 
useful  gun,  applicable  to  all  kinds  of  shooting,  and  service- 
able in  all,  is  one  of  fourteen  gauge  thirty-one  inch  bar- 
rel, and  7£  to  eight  Ibs.  weight.  Such  a  gun  will  carry 
a  charge  of  1^-  ounce  of  shot  to  about  3^  drachms  of 
powder,  which  is  in  the  ratio  of  measure  for  measure,  or 
seven  to  one  by  weight,  and  do  its  work  well,  regularly, 
evenly  and  effectively  at  forty  yards— dispersing  its  shot, 
at  that  distance,  over  a  circle  of  thirty  inches  diameter, 
so  evenly  that,  supposing  No.  8  shot  to  be  used,  no  wood- 
cock, quail,  or  single  snipe  shall  be  within  that  circle  un- 
pierced  by  one  or  more  pellets — or,  if  larger  shot  be  used, 
no  ruffed  grouse,  prairie-fowl,  or  wild  duck. 

I  do  not  intend,  by  any  means,  to  indicate  forty  yards 
as  the  extreme  distance  at  which  such  a  gun  will  do  its 
work  fatally,  but  only  as  the  distance  at  which  it  ought 
invariably  to  do  it,  killing  every  bird  clean,  if  it  be  held 
so  straight  as  to  bring  the  bird  aimed  at  within  the  circle. 
Beyond  this  it  will  often,  I  may  say  constantly,  kill  some 
shots  at  fifty,  some  fewer  at  sixty,  and  now  and  then  one 
at  seventy  yards ;  moreover,  such  a  gun  will  carry,  when 
required,  an  ounce  and  three-quarters  or  two  ounces  of 
No.  1  or  2  shot,  with  3£  drachms  of  powder,  with  great 
force  and  effect ;  it  being  remembered,  that  when  we 
estimate  by  filling  a  measure  of  one  capacity  with  pellets 
of  different  sizes,  the  measure  of  No.  10  shot  being  almost 
solid,  will  weigh  at  least  one-third  more  than  the  same 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW    TO   CHOOSE   IT.  75 

measure  of  No.  1,  where  the  interstices  are  as  numerous 
as  the  pellets.  So  that  two  ounces,  or  rather  the  full  of 
what  is  called  a  two  ounce  measure,  in  a  shooting-pouch, 
of  No.  1,  shall  not  really  weigh  more  than  one  and  a  half 
ounce  of  No.  10,  by  the  same  measure. 

This  then  constitutes,  according  to  my  opinion,  the 
gun  above  described,  the  most  available  for  all  purposes, 
and  the  most  useful  general  shooting  gun  for  all  sports- 
men who  can  afford  but  one  gun  for  all  work,  that  can  be 
made. 

It  is  sufficiently  short  and  handy  to  be  easily  recover- 
able, and  to  shoot  with  murderous  effect  in  the  closest 
and  most  tangled  brake.  It  is  sufficiently  close-carrying 
and  hard-hitting  to  do  its  work,  as  well  as  any  gun  is  ever 
needed  to  do  its  work,  on  the  wildest  game  in  the  open. 
It  will  stop  a  wild  duck  going  down  wind  with  No.  2 
shot  at  45  to  50  yards,  or  with  an  Eley's  cartridge  at  70 ; 
and  with  ten  slugs  in  a  wire  cartridge,  a  stag  at  the  same 
distance  will  have  but  a  poor  chance  before  it,  for  it  will 
throw  the  ten  slugs  into  a  twenty-four  inch  diameter. 

I  have  never  myself  shot  in  any  covert  with  a  shorter 
gun,  nor  did  I  ever  feel  that  I  was  giving  any  odds  to 
those  who  did.  I  have  never  shot  in  the  open  with  a 
longer  or  heavier  gun,  and  I  have  always  felt,  that  in 
shooting  a  hard  long  day  through,  I  was  taking  large  odds 
from  those  who  did. 

It  must  be  remembered,  which,  for  the  most  part  it  is 
not,  that  the  great  majority  of  birds  killed  are  recovered 
dead,  within  twenty  yards  of  the  muzzle;  that  not  one  in 
fifty,  in  a  day's  shooting,  is  gathered  over  forty,  and  that 


76  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

none  but  a  very  crack  shot,  and  he  but  rarely,  shoots  at  a 
bird  which  is  forty  yards  off  when  he  draws  the  trigger, 
and  which,  if  going  away  from  him,  or  down  wind,  will  be 
when  killed  at  least  ten  yards  farther. 

It  is  safe  to  assert,  that  not  one  bird  in  a  hundred 
killed  is  shot  at  when  above  forty  yards  from  the  trigger, 
and  that  birds  so  shot  at,  not  one  in  ten  is  brought  to  bag. 

By  this,  one  may  judge  how  much  avail  there  is  in 
talking  about  the  necessity  of  having  guns,  which  shall 
shoot  evenly  and  strongly  at  sixty  yards.  No  gun,  I  had 
almost  said,  ever  did  so;  and  would  be  of  little  avail 
if  it  did. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  very  short  guns,  so  short  as 
26,  28,  and  even  I  believe  24  inch  barrels,  with  gauges  so 
large  as  10  and  9,  having  the  weight  of  the  14  gauge  and 
31  inch  guns,  have  been  found  to  shoot  far  better  than  had 
previously  been  supposed  possible,  carrying  heavy  charges, 
and  not  appearing  so  much  deficient  in  range  or  penetra- 
tion as  to  be  manifestly  inferior  to  the  larger  guns.  For 
covert,  their  powerful  load,  and  the  comparatively  large 
space  which  their  shot  covers,  rendered  them  exceedingly 
fatal,  and,  for  a  time,  they  were  all  the  rage  with  London 
makers,  and  some  were  even  exported  hither ;  but  on  the 
moors,  and  even  in  wild  partridge  shooting,  in  England, 
they  did  not  tell,  and  for  this  country  or  British  Colonial 
shooting,  they  never  had  any  wide  or  general  market.  If 
one  were  rich  enough  to  have  a  gun  for  every  season  of 
the  year,  one  of  these  short  wide-barrel  London  guns,  by 
a  first-class  maker,  of  about  6£  Ibs.  weight,  would  be  a  very 
agreeable  change  for  July  cock-shooting,  reserving  the 


THE   GUN,    AND  HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  77 

more  serviceable  14  gauge  for  spring  and  fall  snipe-shoot- 
ing, and  for  autumn  shooting  in  general.  To  persons  who 
can  afford  one  only,  such  a  piece  would  be  nearly  useless, 
as  it  would  be  two  to  one  against  him,  the  year  through, 
compared  with  his  companion  carrying  a  gun  such  as  I 
recommend. 

In  any  event,  it  is  a  mere  piece  of  luxury  and  cox- 
combry, scarce  worthy  of  a  sportsman,  to  affect  a  particu- 
lar gun  for  every  season ;  and,  what  is  more,  it  is  not 
unlikely  to  detract  seriously  from  his  shooting ;  even  if  it 
be  built  of  exactly  the  same  weight,  bend  and  length  of 
stock,  and  trigger-pull ;  since  no  two  or  more  guns  ever 
come  up,  much  less  shoot,  exactly  alike ;  nor  does  the 
same  man  ever  execute  equally  with  two  guns. 

Like  the  proverbial  man  of  one  book,  the  man  of 
one  gun  is  to  be  bewared.  He  is  likely  to  prove  an  ugly 
customer. 

In  one  case,  I  should  recommend  the  adoption  of  a 
different  gun  to  the  above,  or  the  use  of  two  of  different 
sizes.  That  is,  where  the  shooter  has  little  or  no  upland 
shooting;  by  which  term  I  mean  snipe,  woodcock,  quail, 
grouse,  prairie-fowl  and  hare,  using  it  in  opposition  not  to 
lowland,  but  to  bay  shooting,  and  depends  for  his  sport  on 
the  shores,  lagoons,  creeks,  and  beaches,  or  even  inland 
rivers  and  lakes  ;  when  I  would  advise,  in  lieu  of  the  gun 
I  have  so  often  described,  one  of  ten  Ibs.  with  two  barrels 
of  thirty-six  inches,  and  8  or  9  gauge.  Such  a  gun  is  the 
most  effective  that  can  be  had  for  single  fowl  or  for  small 
flocks,  and  for  shore-birds,  such  as  curlews,  marlins,  wil- 
let,  plovers  and  the  like.  Where  a  sportsman  is  so  lucky 


78  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

as  to  have  a  combination  of  the  two  kinda  of  sport,  in 
nearly  equal  proportions,  and  follows  both  with  nearly 
equal  ardor,  I  know  no  plan  but  that  he  should  have  a 
gun  of  each  description ;  for  the  heavy  piece  it  would  be 
too  wearisome  to  carry  over  hill  and  over  dale,  and  the 
lighter  will  not  tell  its  tale  with  effect  on  sea  ducks ;  while, 
if  a  fine  and  costly  article,  it  will  be  seriously  damaged  by 
the  sea  mist  and  salt  air;  and  the  finer  the  finish  and 
engraving,  the  greater  the  damage. 

Such  a  gun  ought  to  be,  by  choice,  as  plain  as  it  can 
be  made.  Every  line  of  engraving  is  a  positive  drawback, 
only  serving  to  hold  rust.  The  maximum  price,  which  I 
should  hold  it  desirable  to  pay  for  a  fowl  gun  of  this  de- 
scription, is  one  hundred  dollars,  and  for  that,  or  even  for 
eighty,  any  one  of  the  New  York  makers  I  have  named, 
will  provide  one  of  undoubted  excellence. 

Than  this,  I  think  no  double  gun  should  be  made 
larger.  For  boat-shooting  in  the  bays  or  beaches  I  recom- 
mend, what  I  always  use,  two  single  guns  of  fourteen  to 
sixteen  pounds  weight,  four  foot  barrels,  and  5  gauge. 
They  should  be  made  without  ramrod  or  pipes,  which 
only  renders  them  top-heavy,  and  provided  with  a  solid 
loading  rod  having  a  round  knob  on  the  upper  end,  and  a 
complete  set  of  cleaning  apparatus  to  screw  in  at  the 
other. 

These  guns  will  carry  four  ounces  of  any  sized  shot 
from  BB  down  to  4,  and  an  equal  measure  of  powder,  and 
will  kill  with  loose  charges  at  80  yards ;  with  green  car- 
tridges at  100,  sure. 

They  are  English  made,  and  imported;  and  can  be 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  79 

had,  the  best,  for  35  to  40  dollars.  If  they  be  top  or 
muzzle-heavy,  which  they  sometimes  are,  and  which  is  a 
bad  fault,  and  a  great  hindrance  to  quick  shooting,  the 
fault  may  easily  be  remedied,  by  taking  off  the  heel-plate, 
scooping  a  hole  in  the  butt,  and  running  in  a  pound  or  two 
of  lead.  The  restoration  of  balance,  by  means  of  this 
counterpoise,  will  far  more  than  compensate  the  increase 
of  the  total  weight ;  the  rather  that  guns  of  this  size  are 
only  to  be  used  in  boat-shooting,  not  carried  in  pursuit  of 
game. 

A  very  little  practice  will  enable  a  hardy  man  and 
quick  shot  to  use  two  single  guns,  laying  down  the  one 
after  firing,  and  snatching  up  the  other ;  if  not  quite  so 
rapidly  as  one  double-barrel,  quite  rapidly  enough  to  de- 
molish a  flock,  by  getting  in  both  loads.  I  have,  at  this 
moment,  one  of  the  exact  character  described,  so  handy, 
that  I  can  raise  and  manage  it  with  ease  with  my  left  hand 
on  the  trigger-guard.  For  sea-fowling  guns,  the  nipples 
should  be  of  the  inverted  fashion,  having  the  orifice  like  a 
funnel,  large  above  and  tapering  to  a  point  below ;  as  the 
flame  of  the  cap  is  thus  more  forcibly  injected,  which  is 
needful,  as  the  coarse-grained  powder,  which  is  preferable 
for  sea  shooting,  will  not  enter  the  cones. 

As  to  the  makers,  qualities,  prices,  or  descriptions  of 
guns  needful  to  the  sportsman,  I  have  no  word  more  to 
say ;  but  as  to  the  mode  of  choosing,  a  few  hints  may  be 
found  serviceable. 

We  will  suppose  a  person,  having  made  up  his  mind  to 
what  price  he  will  go,  and  what  description  of  piece  he 
needs,  to  have  found,  by  the  assistance  of  competent 


80  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

judges,  several  guns  the  work  of  responsible  makers,  and 
in  the  hands  of  dealers  on  whose  faith  he  can  rely ;  and 
from  among  these  to  have  selected  some  two  or  three, 
which  he  has  ascertained,  by  testing  them  according  to  the 
instructions  on  pp.  46, 47,  to  suit  him,  as  to  weight,  curva- 
ture of  stock  and  trigger-pull — the  last  can  be  altered,  if 
too  hard,  by  the  touch  of  a  file.  He  should  now  proceed  to 
try  them  by  firing  them  in  the  open  air,  with  a  full  charge 
of  powder  and  shot,  as  prescribed  before,  at  a  distance  of 
forty  yards.  The  mark  should  be  twenty-four  sheets  of 
thick  tarred  brown  paper,  large  enough  to  contain  an  inte- 
rior circle  of  thirty  inches  diameter. 

Into  this  circle  the  gun  ought  to  put  its  whole  charge 
point-blank ;  I  mean  without  more  elevation  than  that 
given  by  the  rib.  The  shot  ought  to  be  dispersed  evenly, 
not  strewed  here  in  clusters  of  a  dozen  or  more  close  to- 
gether, and  there  with  spaces  of  several  inches  intervening. 
A  gun  doing  the  first  may  be  depended  upon  for  killing,  if 
held  straight.  With  one  planting  its  charge,  as  the  second, 
it  is  hit  or  miss  by  luck.  If  a  small  part  only  of  the 
charge  is  lodged  in  the  mark  at  that  range,  and  those  wide 
apart  and  much  dispersed,  the  gun  scatters  too  widely,  and 
consequently  shoots  weakly  ;  discard  it,  therefore,  on*  the 
instant. 

If,  on  the  contrary — but  that  will  very  rarely  happen, 
at  forty  yards — the  charge  should  be  much,  though  evenly 
concentrated,  in  the  centre  of  the  mark,  especially  if  it 
have  put  a  great  proportion  of  all  its  pellets  through  all 
the  24  sheets  of  paper,  the  gun  is  a  wonder. 

It  is  possible  it  may  shoot  too  closely,  that  is,  may  tear 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW    TO   CHOOSE   IT.  81 

its  object  to  pieces  in  the  hands  of  a  dead-shot,  or  miss  it 
clean  with  a  novice.  This  is  easily  ascertained  by  trying 
it  at  a  shorter  range,  say  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  ;  and  if 
at  the  former  distance  it  concentrate  its  charge  in  the  size 
of  a  tea-cup,  it  certainly  does  carry  too  close,  and  should 
also  be  laid  aside. 

But  this  I  must  add,  that  of  all  the  guns  I  have  ever 
seen,  handled,  or  shot  with,  which  amount  to  a  pretty  con- 
siderable number,  I  have  never  seen  one  which  shot  too 
closely.  Nor  do  I  believe  that  a  gun  ever  did  carry  too 
closely,  provided  that  it  did  not  lose  force  by  supereroga- 
tory friction,  for  a  good  shot.  For  it  is  the  simplest  of 
all  things,  to  a  person  who  is  continually  making  allow- 
ances on  almost  every  shot  that  he  fires,  if  he  finds  that 
his  gun  hits  too  hard  and  tears  its  game,  when  too  near  at 
hand,  either  to  give  the  animal  time  in  the  open,  and  let 
it  get  away  to  a  just  distance,  which  is  always  the  better 
plan,  or  in  thick  covert  to  shoot  a  little  wide,  so  as  to 
avoid  raking  it  with  the  body  of  a  charge. 

Generally,  if  one  hear  a  person  say  that  he  prefers  a 
scattering  gun,  he  may  be  tolerably  satisfied  that  it  is  be- 
cause the  speaker  cannot  shoot  with  a  close-carrying  piece, 
or,  in  other  words,  cannot  cover  his  object. 

Lastly,  in  regard  of  trials,  it  is  not  one  or  two  shots 
that  will  thoroughly  test  a  piece.  Ten  or  twelve  fires  of 
each  barrel,  should  the  result  prove  satisfactory,  and  with 
little  variation  of  effect,  the  same  number  of  pellets,  more 
or  less,  being  put  into  the  mark  and  through  the  last  sheet 
each  time,  will  be  a  sure  proof  of  the  quality  of  the  gun, 
at  the  range  of  forty  yards.  A  few  shots  may  then  be 
i* 


82  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

tried  as  corroboratory  at  twenty,  thirty,  fifty,  sixty,  and,  as 
a  matter  of  curiosity,  with  increased  charges  of  powder  and 
various  elevations,  at  fancy  distances,  70,  80,  and  upward, 
till  you  fail  to  touch  the  paper  at  all. 

If,  however,  the  gun  perform  thoroughly  well,  and  to 
admiration,  at  forty  yards,  it  will  do  so  at  all  distances, 
and  may  be  held  capable  of  all  that  can  be  asked  of  wood 
and  iron. 

It  must  be  remembered,  lastly,  that  by  increasing  the 
quantity  of  powder  to  an  equal  charge  of  shot,  you  in- 
crease the  force  and  velocity,  but  detract  from  the  close- 
ness of  the  shooting ;  and  vice  versa.  A  light  charge  of 
powder  and  a  heavy  one  of  shot  will  tell  wonderfully  for 
closeness,  but  not  all  for  strength. 

With  wire  cartridges,  however,  the  results  of  charging 
are  precisely  the  reverse  of  this.  The  heavier  the  charge 
of  powder,  the  closer  the  cartridge  places  its  shot,  as  well 
as  the  farther.  The  reason  is  obvious. 

The  utility  of  the  cartridge  arises  from  its  power  of 
keeping  its  shot  together  after  being  propelled  from  the 
muzzle,  which  it  leaves  as  a  single  ball.  According  to  the 
stiffness  of  the  cases,  this  quality  endures  longer,  and  the 
cartridges  are  graduated  and  distinguished  as  blue,  red, 
and  green — the  latter  being  fit  only  for  sea-shooting,  and 
often  going  several  hundred  yards  before  they  burst, 
though  they  ought  to  open  at  70,  and  deliver  their  shot, 
at  its  best,  at  100.  Therefore  the  heavier  the  charge  of 
powder,  the  farther  the  cartridge  is  sent  unbroken,  and 
the  closer  will  the  shot  be  planted  at  any  given  distance. 

I  should,  perhaps,  add  to  this,  in  order  to  obviate  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   CHOOSE   IT.  83 

possibility  of  mistake,  that  these  trials  are  directed  for  a 
general  fowling-piece  of  31  inches  and  14  gauge.  For 
ducking  guns  of  all  descriptions,  a  longer  distance  will  be 
required  correctly  to  test  their  properties. 

For  the  double-barrelled  duck  guns  which  I  have 
recommended  for  river  or  marsh  shooting,  of  ten  Ibs. 
weight,  three-foot  barrels  and  8  or  9  gauge,  fifty  to  fifty- 
five  yards  should  be  the  distance  with  loose  shot,  and  the 
piece  ought  to  execute  at  that  range  with  the  same  effect 
as  the  lighter  gun  at  forty. 

The  great  fowling  gun,  again,  of  16  Ibs.,  four  foot  bar- 
rel and  5  gauge,  ought  to  do  its  work  with  three  or  four 
ounces  of  shot,  at  sixty-five  yards,  as  powerfully  and  with 
as  much  penetration  as  the  others  at  forty  and  fifty-five. 

Beyond  this,  I  have  nothing  to  say  in  regard  to  the 
choosing  a  gun. 

If  he  will  follow  the  instructions  laid  down  above,  the 
merest  novice  who  wishes  to  buy,  may  be  sure  of  getting 
what  he  asks  for,  and  is  willing  to  pay  for. 

The  quality  of  what  he  gets,  must,  after  all,  rest  with 
the  amount  that  he  is  willing  to  pay. 

I  shall  now  proceed  briefly  to  teach  how  to  use  the  gun 
when  it  shall  be  chosen.  How  to  carry ;  how  to  clean ; 
how  to  load ;  how  to  learn  to  shoot  it. 

I  cannot  make  a  man  a  crack  shot,  but  I  can  show 
him  how  to  be  a  safe  one.  "  Legere  et  scriberc"  says  J. 
Cypress,  Jr.,  "  est  pcedagogi  sed  optima  collincare  est  del.''1 
Reading  and  writing  come  of  schoolmasters,  but  a  crack 
shot  is  the  work  of  God. 


THE  GUN,  AND  HOW  TO  USE  IT. 

AFTER  becoming  possessed  of  a  good  gun,  in  accordance 
with  the  means,  object  and  idea  of  the  individual,  the  one 
thing  essential  is  to  know  how  to  use  it.  And  this  know- 
ledge, once  acquired,  lasts  for  ever,  yet  does  not  last  un- 
changed, or,  like  most  sublunary  things,  change  only  to 
deteriorate ;  for  what  is  at  first  acquired  with  difficulty 
and  much  painstaking,  gradually  becomes  a  habit,  ripens 
into  a  second  nature,  and,  constantly  improved  by  practice, 
by  experience,  by  freshly-discovered  resources  and  trials 
of  the  power  of  the  weapon,  shall  be  at  last,  almost,  as  it 
were,  an  innate  instinct,  acting  without  deliberation  or 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO    USE   IT.  85 

forethought  as  if  on  the  profoundest  calculation,  and  ac- 
complishing results,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  to  arrive 
at  which  scientifically  would  require  the  solution  of  intri- 
cate problems. 

The  master  of  his  gun  once,  moreover,  is  master  of  the 
art  for  ever,  and  of  all  guns  ;  and  let  what  improvements  or 
changes  soever  take  place  in  the  science,  none  will  occur, 
in  which  he  will  not  immediately  participate,  and  find  his 
ancient  superiority  still  available. 

For  all  improvements  simplify,  facilitate,  add,  in  a 
word,  to  the  power  of  the  weapon,  or  to  the  celerity  of  the 
performance,  or  to  the  convenience  of  the  performer. 

If  the  change  render  it  more  difficult  to  shoot  well,  it  is 
a  retrograde  step,  not  an  improvement.  For  example,  the 
percussion  system  is  now,  in  spite  of  all  old-fashioned 
prejudice  and  opposition,  an  admitted  improvement  on  the 
old  flint-and-steel  system ;  and  one,  not  the  least,  of  its 
advantages  is,  that  it  has  so  much  simplified  the  art  of 
shooting  flying,  that  there  are  now  ten  good  shots,  where 
there  was  one,  forty  years  ago. 

Consequently,  the  person  who  had  learned  with  much 
toil  and  labor  to  shoot  excellently  with  the  old  flint  lock, 
took  up  the  new  percussion  piece,  and  found  himself  at 
once,  with  no  farther  trouble,  twice  as  good  a  shot  as  he 
was  before.  It  was  to  him  as  if  his  old  gun  had  suddenly 
doubled  its  celerity  and  accuracy  of  aim.  It  is  certain 
that  no  good  shot,  with  flint  and  steel,  ever  found  himself  a 
bad  one  with  percussion,  even  on  the  first  trial.  Equally 
certain  it  is,  that,  take  twenty  crack  shots  with  the  per- 
cussion, and  give  them  the  best  and  most  perfectly  finished 


86  MANUAL  FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

Joe  Manton  flint-and-steel  lock,  and  the  first  week  they 
will  not  kill  three  fair  shots  out  of  ten ;  in  any  given  time, 
not  one  will  shoot  as  well  as  he  did  with  his  copper  caps, 
and  probably  one  half  of  them  will  never  become  respect- 
able shots  at  all. 

In  the  like  manner  is  it,  of  all  other  improvements; 
it  is  comparatively  easy  to  advance  from  skill  in  an  unim- 
proved art,  with  the  improvement  of  the  appliances,  to 
excellence.  It  is  almost  impossible,  excellence  being 
attained  with  worthy  implements,  to  retain  that  excel- 
lence practising  an  inferior  method,  which  must  be  re- 
learned  with  inferior  means. 

Now,  in  using  the  gun,  there  are  three  principal  points 
to  be  considered ;  so  that  the  art  may  be  properly  divided 
into  three  heads :  How  to  use  the  gun  safely — that  is, 
with  the  least  possible  danger  to  yourself  and  others; 
how  to  use  it  effectively — that  is,  with  the  greatest  power 
of  bringing  down,  under  all  circumstances,  the  object  at 
which  it  is  directed ;  how  to  use  it  serviceably — that  is,  so 
that  it  shall  be  always  ready  for  service,  so  that  it  shall 
suffer  the  least  from  being  constantly  used,  and  endure  the 
longest  wear  and  tear  without  deterioration. 

The  maxims  for  using  a  gun  safely,  are  few  in  number, 
and  simple ;  but  they  can  never  be  infringed  without  seri- 
ous risk,  either  to  the  shooter  himself,  his  companions,  or 
innocent,  unconcerned  bystanders.  No  one  has  a  right  to 
incur  these  risks  himself,  from  mere  carelessness,  much 
less  to  inflict  them  on  others.  In  my  view  of  the  facts, 
there  are  extremely  few  cases  of  accidents  with  fire-arms, 
as  they  are  called,  involving  loss  of  life,  which  do  not 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  87 

argue  the  last  culpability ;  and  I  wish  that,  by  the  law, 
they  were  rendered  culpable  misdemeanors,  and  punished 
with  fine  and  imprisonment,  instead  of  being  regarded 
with  sympathy  and  commiseration. 

The  first  is,  never,  under  any  circumstances,  whether 
you  know  it  to  be  loaded,  or  believe  it  to  be  unloaded, 
point  your  gun,  or  allow  it  to  be  pointed,  in  the  act  of 
handling  or  carrying  it,  toward  any  persou. 

This  is  the  only  sure  rule  of  safety,  and  it  is  an  easy 
one ;  for,  like  all  the  rest,  after  a  time  it  becomes  an 
instinct  to  carry  a  gun,  so  that  the  carrier,  and  those 
around  him,  shall  all  be  alike  safe  from  the  consequence 
of  an  accidental  discharge.  Such  discharges,  on  the  con- 
trary, though  care  may  lessen  their  frequency,  can  never 
be  entirely  prevented.  A  thumb  will  occasionally  slip 
from  a  striker  in  the  act  of  cocking  the  piece ;  a  brier  will 
catch  a  trigger  or  hammer ;  a  foot  will  miss  its  stephold, 
and  a  fall  explode  the  cap;  lastly,  the  casual  failure  of  a 
portion  of  the  lock  may  let  off  the  gun,  without  the  least 
maladresse,  inexpertness,  or  negligence  on  the  part  of  the 
shooter.  Unquestionably,  no  man  ever  shot  constantly  for 
nuiuy  years,  who  has  not  had  his  gun  discharged  in  his 
hands  inadvertently,  without  his  intentionally  pulling  the 
trigger,  on  some  occasion ;  although  with  a  careful,  ob- 
servant, and  expert  person,  such  occasions  will  be  rare 
indeed.  If  such  things  happen  frequently  to  a  person, 
however  safely  he  may  carry  his  gun,  he  must  be  an  in- 
curably inexpert  bungler,  one  of  those  unfortunates  whose 
fingers  are  all  thumbs ;  and  with  such  persons  there  is  but 
one  course  to  take — not  to  shoot  with  them  at  all. 


88  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

There  have  been  several  patent  inventions  of  stops  of 
various  kinds  for  preventing  the  discharge  of  a  gun,  even 
on  pulling  the  trigger,  unless  the  piece  be  actually  at  the 
shoulder,  and  the  holder  intend  to  fire. 

I  utterly  disapprove  of  all  these ;  first,  because  they 
tend  to  encourage  carelessness  directly,  by  making  the 
person  trust  to  the  infallible  quality  of  his  gun,  which  can- 
not go  off,  instead  of  to  his  own  caution  ;  secondly,  be- 
cause, however  good  in  theory,  I  never  saw  one  which  was 
certain  in  trial ;  in  proof  of  which  I  can  say  that  I  have 
never  been  so  often  missed,  or  so  nearly  shot,  as  by  some 
brilliant  genius  letting  his  gun  go  off,  in  the  very  act  of 
demonstrating  the  impossibility  of  its  going  off;  thirdly, 
because  all  the  stops  I  have  ever  seen,  do  occasionally 
prevent  the  discharge  of  the  gun  when  the  holder  wishes 
to  discharge  it.  Therefore,  I  uphold  care  and  constant 
observation,  as  the  only  sure  gravitating  stop. 

First,  then,  in  carrying  the  gun,  it  is  necessary  so  to 
carry  it,  that,  if  discharged,  its  contents  shall  fly  harm- 
less, as  regards  yourself  or  others. 

It  will  be  found  necessary,  for  relief  to  the  muscles,  in 
a  long  day's  shooting,  to  carry  the  gun  in  many  various 
positions ;  but  in  all  it  may  be  carried  so  as  to  render  its 
casual  discharge  nearly  harmless.  If  carried  on  the  right 
forearm,  with  the  butt  backward  and  the  trigger  guard  on 
the  arm,  the  muzzle  should  point  directly  to  the  ground. 
If  on  the  right  shoulder,  with  the  gripe  in  the  hand  and 
the  locks  on  the  shoulder,  the  muzzle  should  point  directly 
upward.  If  on  the  shoulder,  with  the  butt  backward  and 
the  barrels  grasped  in  the  hand,  the  muzzle  should  point 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO    USE   IT.  89 

directly  to  the  ground.  If  on  the  trail,  the  muzzle  should 
be  pointed  directly  forward ;  but  the  gun  should  never  be 
so  carried,  unless  when  the  shooter  can  see  that  there  is  no 
one  in  front  of  him.  If  in  the  hollow  of  the  left  arm,  with 
the  gripe  lying  in  the  hand,  and  the  barrels  diagonally 
across  the  person,  the  shooter  must  see  that  no  person  is, 
or  can  be,  in  range  of  it;  so  also,  when,  in  walking  up 
to  a  point,  or  to  game  marked  down,  he  bears  his  gun  with 
the  muzzle  diagonally  advanced,  his  hand  on  the  trigger 
guard  and  his  thumb  on  the  striker  ;  or,  when  he  levels  the 
gun,  in  the  act  of  taking  aim,  he  is  bound  to  see  that  no 
one  is  in  the  line  of  fire. 

There  is  a  very  safe  way  of  carrying  a  gun  in  thick 
covert,  where  you  expect  snap  shots,  which  I  have  seen 
little  practised — it  is  to  gripe  the  stock  with  your  right  so 
that  the  forefinger  can  command  the  trigger,  and  the 
thumb  the  striker,  and,  with  the  left  on  the  barrels  imme- 
diately before  the  trigger  guard,  to  bear  the  piece  perpen- 
dicularly, muzzle  upward,  with  the  elevated  rib  toward  the 
body,  almost  in  the  attitude  of  a  soldier  presenting  arms. 
If  a  bird  rise,  a  simple  and  easy  movement  simultaneously 
drops  the  sight  to  its  level  and  brings  the  stock  to  the 
shoulder;  while  in  forcing  his  way  through  coppice,  it 
assists  rather  than  hinders  the  shooter,  by  parting  the 
branches  before  his  face. 

I  recommend  its  practice  as  worthy  of  attention. 

Than  these,  I  know  no  other  way  in  which  it  is  allow- 
able to  carry  a  gun  under  any  circumstances. 

Next,  as  to  the  condition  of  the  locks,  in  carrying  a 
gun.  When  a  piece  is  loaded  and  capped,  the  strikers 


90  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPOETSMEN. 

must  never,  under  any  possible  circumstances,  be  let  down, 
much  less  carried  down,  on  the  caps.  This  is  the  more  to 
be  observed,  because  it  is  by  far  the  most  common,  and 
commonly  conceived  to  be  the  safest,  way  of  carrying  a 
gun.  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  a  countryman  carry  his 
gun  otherwise,  until  indoctrinated  with  much  labor  into 
doing  so. 

It  is  infinitely  the  most  dangerous  way  in  which  a  gun 
can  possibly  be  carried,  for  these  reasons :  First,  any 
blow  on  the  back  of  the  striker,  while  it  is  down,  will  ex- 
plode the  cap  and  discharge  the  gun,  as  may  easily  happen 
from  a  fall  on  a  stone  or  on  hard  ground,  without  either 
raising  the  hammer  or  touching  the  trigger.  Secondly,  a 
branch  or  brier  catching  the  hook  of  the  striker,  drawing 
it  back  any  where  short  of  the  half-cock  catch,  and  then 
releasing  it — as  it  will  do  twice  out  of  three  times — will 
infallibly  fire  the  gun. 

At  half-cock,  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred, 
the  same  brier  or  branch  will  bring  the  striker  to  full- 
cock,  and  then  no  harm  is  done.  In  the  hundredth  instance 
the  piece  would  be  fired. 

From  personal  experience  I  may  say  that  I  have, 
probably,  in  the  course  of  my  shooting,  had  my  locks  ftill- 
cocked  from  half-cock,  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  times — 
fired  from  half-cock  never. 

At  full-cock,  a  gun  can  be  discharged  only  by  a  branch 
or  brier  catching  the  trigger ;  then  it  must  invariably  be 
discharged.  No  catch  of  the  striker  can  do  any  mischief. 

Consequently,   the    comparative    safety   stands   thus ; 

There  are  two  accidents,  by  which  the  locks  with  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  91 

strikers  on  the  nipples  may  be  discharged,  and  by  either 
of  these  they  will  be  discharged  nine  times  out  of  ten. 

There  is  one  accident,  by  which  the  lock  on  the  full- 
cock  may  be,  and  by  that  it  will  be,  invariably  discharged. 

There  is  only  one  accident  by  which  the  lock  at  half- 
cock  can  be  discharged,  and  by  that  it  will  not,  ninety 
times  out  of  a  hundred. 

I  never,  to  conclude,  object  to  shooting  with  persons 
who  shoot  with  their  guns  habitually  carried  at  full-cock. 
Most  quick  shots  always  do  so ;  and  some  argue,  with  some 
show  of  reason,  though  I  do  not  agree,  that  it  is  safest  so 
to  do.  I  have  shot  for  years  with  men  who  do  so,  and 
never  saw  an  accident  occur ;  besides  which,  they  are 
of  necessity  careful.  With  no  man,  who  carries  his  strik- 
ers on  his  caps,  would  I  walk  in  company  ten  minutes, 
much  less  hunt  a  day  with  him. 

To  load  a  gun,  which  has  been  recently  fired,  leave  the 
striker  of  the  barrel  just  discharged,  down  upon  the  cap 
which  it  has  exploded ;  let  down  the  other  to  half-cock, 
or,  if  at  half-cock  already,  let  it  stand  there ;  drop  the 
butt,  so  that  the  piece  shall  stand  perpendicularly  before 
you,  with  the  trigger  guard  and  ramrod  toward  your  face, 
at  about  a  foot  distant  from  the  body. 

Hold  the  barrel  lightly,  at  about  two  inches  below  the 
muzzle,  between  the  three  first  fingers  and  thumb  of  the 
left  hand.  With  the  right  draw  out  the  powder  flask  from 
the  pocket  in  which  you  carry  it ;  cover  the  orifice  of  the 
charger  with  your  forefinger ;  invert  the  flask ;  turn  off  the 
charger  spring  with  the  ball  of  your  thumb,  giving  the 
flask  a  slight  shake.  Let  the  spring  fly  back  with  a  sharp 


92  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

click,  which  will  cut  off  the  communication,  and,  if  the 
flask  be  a  good  one,  will  obviate  the  possibility  of  an  ex- 
plosion. 

I  will  here  observe  that  Dixon's  patent  flask,  with  the 
steel  spring  on  the  outside  of  the  top,  is  the  only  one 
which  ought  to  be  used  by  any  person  who  regards  safety, 
convenience,  and  rapidity  of  loading. 


In  the  little  cut  above  one  of  these  implements  is  shown, 
of  the  best  construction,  together  with  a  double  patent 
lever  shot-pouch  of  Sykes's  patent,  also  manufactured  by 
Dixon  of  Sheffield,  and  sold  by  all  considerable  gunsmiths. 
I  esteem  it  preferable  for  convenience  and  quickness  'to 
any  belt  or  contrivance  I  have  ever  tried,  both  for  carry- 
ing shot  and  loading.  The  best  material  for  the  powder 
flask  I  hold  to  be  tin,  made  in  two  halves,  and  soldered 
along  the  edges.  It  not  unfrequently  happens,  where  ex- 
plosions take  place  in  the  horn,  either  from  defect  in  the 
mechanism,  or  from  carelessness  in  the  loader's  pouring 
the  powder  into  the  barrel  without  cutting  off  the  com- 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  93 

munication,  that  in  flasks  so  constructed  the  two  halves  are 
simply  blown  asunder,  instead  of  being  shattered  to  atoms, 
and  that  the  owner  escapes  with  a  scorched,  instead  of  a 
maimed,  right  hand. 

But  to  return  to  the  loading.  You  then  toss  in  the 
powder  as  quickly  as  is  consistent  with  accuracy,  return 
your  flask,  insert  a  cut  wad  in  the  barrel,  draw  your  ram- 
rod, drive  down  the  wad  sharply  and  ram  it  home  on  the 
powder'  remembering  not  to  grasp  the  rod,  much  less 
cover  the  tip  of  it  with  the  palm  of  your  hand,  in  ramming 
down,  but  to  hold  it  only  between  the  tips  of  your  fingers 
and  thumb.  In  case  of  an  explosion,  this  difference  in  the 
mode  of  holding  it  will  just  make  the  difference  of  lacer- 
ated finger  tips  or  a  hand  blown  to  shreds. 

For  the  same  reason,  never  hold  your  nose  over  the 
muzzles,  as  if  you  want  to  look  down  the  barrels ;  you  can- 
not see  the  charge  in  the  chambers,  any  more  than  you  can 
find  truth  at  the  bottom  of  a  draw  well. 

Your  powder  home,  drop  the  ramrod  into  the  undis- 
charged barrel,  by  which  you  will  ascertain  whether  the 
load  has  started  on  the  firing  of  the  first,  as  it  will  do 
sometimes,  and  create  some  risk  of  bursting  a  barrel,  and 
if  it  have,  will  drive  it  back  into  its  place.  Pour  your  shot 
into  the  barrel  you  are  loading,  insert  another  cut  wad  on 
the  top  of  it,  ram  it  down  sharply,  and  return  the  ramrod 
to  its  pipes.  If,  by  any  accident,  a  shot  have  run  down 
into  the  barrel  which  contains  the  ramrod,  do  not  attempt 
to  draw  it  by  force,  which  will  only  jam  it  harder,  but  in- 
vert the  piece,  give  it  a  shake,  and  out  will  come  both  shot 
and  ramrod. 


94  MANUAL   FOE  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

You  are  now  loaded — recover  your  piece,  bring  the 
lock  to  half-cock,  remove  the  broken  cap  from  the  nipple, 
and  see  if  the  powder  be  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  orifice. 
If  it  be  not  up,  there  is  much  danger  of  the  piece  missing 
entirely,  or  making  long  fire;  rap  the  lower  side  of  the 
breech  smartly  with  the  hand,  holding  the  nipples  down- 
ward, which  will  usually  bring  the  powder  up.  If  it  fail, 
try  the  cones  with  the  pricking  needle,  and,  if  needful, 
pour  in  a  grain  or  two  of  powder,  put  on  the  copper  cap, 
and  press  it  down  tightly  with  the  ball  of  the  thumb,  to 
insure  its  fitting  so  closely  that  it  will  not  readily  fall  off. 

Nothing  is  so  vexatious  as  a  miss  fire,  and  by  these 
precautions,  and  the  use  of  good  materials,  it  is  rendered 
all  but  impossible. 

Cut  wadding  for  a  double  gun  is  indispensable ;  it  is 
cleaner,  more  expeditious,  safer.  Tow  and  loose  paper  are 
both  dangerous ;  the  former  from  its  liability  to  remain 
ignited  in  the  barrels,  and  fire  the  second  load,  the  latter 
from  its  tendency  to  slip,  at  the  shock  of  the  first  fire,  and 
leave  a  vacuum  between  the  powder  and  shot,  which  will 
often  produce  a  burst. 

Wads  can  be  readily  cut  at  home  from  pasteboard, 
cards,  old  bandboxes,  old  hats,  or  the  like,  with  a  cutter, 
which  always  accompanies  a  good  gun,  numbered  accord- 
ing to  the  calibre,  a  mallet,  and  a  piece  of  sheet  lead,  on 
which  to  rest  the  substance  to  be  cut.  They  are,  however, 
to  be  bought  of  all  sizes,  in  boxes  of  250  each,  at  all  gun- 
smiths' shops,  so  cheap  as  to  render  it  a  waste  of  time 
and  trouble  to  cut  them,  unless  in  an  emergency,  when  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   TJSE   IT.  95 

stock  is  expended,  and  there  is  no  store  at  hand  whence  to 
replace  it. 

There  was  formerly  sold  a  patent  metallic  English 
wad,  which  I  approved,  both  on  account  of  the  small  bulk 
it  occupied,  and  that  it  kept  the  gun  clean ;  I  have,  how- 
ever, seen  none  lately,  and  they  seem  to  have  gone  out  of 
fashion.  A  species  of  medicated  or  oiled  wad  is  now  sold 
for  the  same  purpose  ;  and  it  is  recommended  to  mix  a  few 
with  the  common  stock,  so  that  one  will  be  occasionally 
used,  as  it  is  claimed  to  clean  the  barrels.  These  I  neither 
praise  nor  the  reverse.  I  do  not  know  what  medicament 
is  that  applied,  and  some  are  highly  injurious  to  metal. 

The  best  gunpowder  for  upland  shooting,  by  many  de- 
grees, in  my  opinion,  is  Curtis  and  Harvey's  diamond 
grain,  No.  2 ;  next  to  that,  Pigou  and  Wilkes',  and  of  late 
years,  an  admirable  Scotch  powder — I  believe  the  Rosliu 
mills.  But  I  consider  Curtis  and  Harvey's  the  cleanest, 
quickest,  strongest,  best,  that  I  have  ever  tried.  Dupont's 
American  powder  is  undoubtedly  strong — perhaps  stronger, 
if  strength  alone  were  the  test,  than  any  other — but  it  is 
so  irremediably  filthy,  that  I  abominate  the  sight  or  men- 
tion of  it.  It  were  not  too  much  to  say,  that  ten  shots 
fired  with  Dupont's  powder  foul  a  gun  more  than  five  and 
twenty  with  any  of  the  reputable  English  or  Scotch 
powders. 

I  consider  the  best  powder  that  ever  was  invented  for 
large  guns,  especially  for  sea  shooting,  where  the  salt  air 
decomposes  the  ordinary  qualities,  to  be  Hawker's  duck- 
ing powder,  manufactured  by  the  same  makers  I  have 
named,  with  preference,  above. 


96  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Any  of  the  anticorrosive  English  copper  caps  are  good ; 
I  think  Walker's  the  least  so,  and  Starkey's  central  fire 
water-proof  the  best.  I  have  kept  these  a  week  in  a  tum- 
bler of  water,  and  known  them  to  go  off  without  a  single 
miss  or  long  fire.  Eley,  celebrated  for  his  famous  car- 
tridges, has  invented  a  cap  lined  with  India  rubber,  which 
is  said  to  be  superlative,  and  to  answer  for  punt  guns, 
over  which  the  spray  is  continually  falling  so  as  to  render 
extra  expedients  necessary  to  secure  sure  firing;  these, 
however,  I  have  never  seen.  All  the  good  London  makers 
now  manufacture  their  own  caps,  which  to  furnish  to  their 
customers,  and  I  have  never  used  better  than  some  from 
the  house  of  Moore  &  Gray,  Edgeware  Road. 

With  regard  to  the  sizes  of  shot,  there  is  much  differ- 
ence of  opinion.  I  consider  No.  8  sufficiently  heavy, 
unless  in  case  of  birds  being  unusually  wild,  when  I  would 
use  No.  7,  or  what  I  greatly  prefer,  Eley's  cartridges  of 
No.  8,  for  all  upland  game,  all  the  year  through. 

Even  at  fowl,  I  am  convinced  that  most  men  err  both 
in  loading  too  heavily  and  in  firing  too  large  shot.  No.  4 
is,  in  my  judgment,  as  large  shot  as  any  fowling-piece  can 
ordinarily  carry.  No.  2  is  large  enough  for  any  thing 
except  geese,  out  of  any  gun,  but  for  them  one  may  use 
BB,  or  Eley's  green  cartridges  with  SSG. 

The  farther  rules  for  safety  are  these  :  never  get  into 
a  wagon  without  taking  off  your  copper  caps,  even  if  it  be 
only  for  a  drive  of  ten  minutes ;  and  it  is  well  also  to 
wipe  or  brush  the  nipples,  after  removing  the  caps;  for 
the  percussion  powder  will  occasionally  adhere  about  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  97 

orifice,  and  will  explode  under  a  blow  as  readily  as  the 
cap  itself. 

On  going  into  a  house,  never  take  off  the  copper  caps. 
Men  often  do  so,  thinking  thereby  to  render  them  safe  in 
case  of  their  being  thrown  down  by  dogs  or  played  with  by 
children.  In  that  case,  the  only  safe  plan  is  to  place  them 
where  none  of  either  the  probable  offenders  can  get  at 
them. 

The  danger  in  reality,  is  increased  tenfold  by  removing 
the  caps ;  for  to  do  so  is  to  represent  the  loaded  gun  aa 
unloaded  and  innocent.  Nothing  but  a  very  small  boy 
indeed  takes  up  a  capped  gun,  without  perceiving  it  to  be 
loaded ;  and  it  is  rarely,  if  ever,  with  such  pieces,  that  acci- 
dents happen. 

With  loaded  guns  left  uncapped,  scarcely  a  week  pass- 
es, but  we  see  that  some  unhanged  idiot  has  had,  as  it  is 
glibly  termed,  the  misfortune  to  blow  out  the  brains  of 
his  sweetheart,  wife,  or  child,  by  capping  a  piece  which 
he  supposed  to  be  unloaded,  and  snapping  it  at  the  head 
of  his  victim. 

The  writer  can  only  say  that,  should  he  ever  sit  on  a 
jury  where  one  of  these  unfortunate  gentlemen  shall  be 
tried  for  such  an  accident,  his  misfortune  will  probably  be 
increased  by  having  to  serve  out  a  sentence  for  manslaugh- 
ter, or  murder  in  the  second  degree,  in  the  State  prison. 

One  would  not  suppose  it  necessary  to  write  for  the 
information  of  sane  folk,  that  it  is  not  altogether  safe  to 
put  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  into  his  mouth,  and  then  for  one 
to  pull  the  trigger  with  his  toe. 

I  have,  however,  within  a  month,  read  of  two  deaths 
5 


98  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

occurring  so  nearly  in  this  manner,  that  I  am  led  to  doubt 
the  inutility  of  the  caution. 

One  genius,  having  got  the  cleaning  rod  of  his  rifle 
jammed,  so  that  he  could  not  withdraw  it,  cocked  the 
piece,  took  the  rod  in  his  teeth,  pulled  might  and  main, 
and  finding  that  it  still  did  not  come,  pulled  the  trigger 
with  his  toe. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  it  is  stated,  although  I  do  not 
altogether  believe  it,  that  the  cleaning  rod  and  ball  both 
went  out  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  without  doing  him  much 
harm.  I  say  I  am  sorry,  for  if  the  story  be  true,  such 
a  fool  ought  not  to  live. 

In  the  other  case,  the  sufferer  wished  to  ascertain  if  his 
piece  were  loaded  or  not,  by  trying  whether  the  air  would 
draw  through  it.  To  this  end  he  clapped  the  muzzle  into 
his  mouth,  and  began  to  suck ;  then,  remembering  that  so 
long  as  the  striker  lay  down  on  the  nipple,  that  alone  would 
prevent  the  ingress  of  the  air,  he  proceeded  to  half-cock 
the  lock  with  his  toe.  Of  course,  his  toe  slipped,  and 
very  naturally  his  brains  were  blown  to  the  four  winds. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  that  these  "modern  in- 
stances" are  either  jokes  or  "weak  inventions"  of  the 
author.  The  former  anecdote  appeared  in  the  columas 
of  the  National  Intelligencer,  the  latter  in  the  New  York 
Daily  Times ;  both  relations  bearing  every  mark  of  authen- 
ticity, the  names  of  the  sufferers,  the  time  and  place  of 
their  exploits,  though  not  the  verdict  of  the  coroner,  which 
one  might  conjecture  would  run  in  the  old  style  of  "  sarved 
'em  right,  too." 

Who  shall  say,  after  this,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  99 

state  the  danger  of  pulling  triggers  with  the  muzzle  in  the 
mouth  ? 

I  shall  now,  for  the  sake  of  continuity,  alter  the  order 
in  which  I  have  heretofore  considered  the  modes  of  using 
the  gun,  under  the  three  heads  into  which  I  first  divided 
the  subject. 

The  learning  to  shoot,  and  the  various  details  and  de- 
grees of  shooting,  are  in  themselves  an  art,  and  I  therefore 
prefer  to  treat  them  separately,  postponing  them  to  what  is 
for  the  most  part  mechanical,  and,  however  useful,  and 
indeed  necessary  to  be  known,  easily  explicable  to  and  at- 
tainable by  any  person,  not  actually  deficient  in  intelli- 
gence. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  residuum  of  the 
gunpowder  exploded,  and  of  the  igniting  substance  of  the 
copper  caps,  has  the  effect  of  producing  the  worst  sort  of 
oxidization  of  the  metal  of  the  barrels,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  according  to  the  temperature  and  humidity  of  the 
atmosphere. 

The  finest  barrels  are  rusted  the  most  easily,  and  suffer 
the  more  detriment  by  rusting.  Of  course  the  fouler  the 
gun,  the  greater  the  evil  that  arises  from  its  being  left 
foul.  In  hot  weather  barrels  suffer  infinitely  more  than  in 
cold,  and  in  wet  than  in  dry.  When  dampness  and  heat 
are  combined,  the  mischief  is  yet  augmented ;  and,  prob- 
ably, the  worst  conditions  that  can  be  supposed  are  when 
to  dampness  and  heat  a  salt  atmosphere  is  superadded. 

No  man,  who  owns  a  fine  gun,  or  any  gun  which  he 
values,  ought  ever  to  put  it  aside  after  use,  without  clean- 
ing, even  if  he  have  fired  but  a  single  shot. 


100  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Again,  every  man  who  loves  his  gun  should  make  it  a 
point  to  clean  it  with  his  own  hands.  It  is  all  very  well 
in  Europe,  where  the  sportsman  has  a  gamekeeper  at  his 
elbow  who  knows  how  to  clean  a  gun,  better  than  he  does 
himself,  and  who  takes  as  much  pride  in  having  it  clean  as 
he,  to  trust  it  to  his  servant. 

I  have  shot,  more  or  less,  twenty-five  seasons  in  Amer- 
ica, and  having  body-servants  all  the  time,  never  had  one 
to  whom  I  would  intrust  the  cleaning  of  a  valuable  piece. 
I  have  always  cleaned  my  own  gun  before  sleeping,  or  if 
I  have  been  too  much  beaten  with  work  to  do  so,  have  in- 
variably, after  seeing  it  as  well  done  as  a  man  could 
accomplish  at  night,  given  it  a  thorough  and  fresh  going 
over,  before  using  it  in  the  morning. 

The  mode  and  process  is  as  follows : 

Bring  your  locks  to  half-cock,  take  the  ramrod  out  of 
the  pipes,  and  the  barrels  out  of  the  stock,  screw  the  brass 
jag  into  the  lower  end  of  a  solid  cleaning  rod — not  one  of 
the  trumpery,  jointed  ebony  or  mahogany  sticks  which 
come  in  the  gun-case — but  a  tough,  seasoned  hickory  staff, 
of  nearly  half  an  inch  diameter,  about  four  inches  longer 
than  the  barrels,  with  a  saw-cut  handpiece.  Wrap  the  jag 
as  thickly  with  the  finest  and  cleanest  tow,  as  the  bo*e  of 
the  barrels  to  be  cleaned  will  admit.  Moisten  this  tow, 
and  insert  it  into  the  muzzle ;  plunge  the  breeches  of  both 
barrels  into  a  bucket  of  cold  water,  some  four  or  six  inches 
deep.  Some  persons  advise  hot  water ;  not  so  I.  Hot 
water  cakes  and  hardens  the  dirt  in  the  barrels ;  cold 
dissolves  and  loosens  it.  Work  the  rod  up  and  down, 
like  the  sucker  of  a  pump,  first  in  one  barrel,  then  in  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  101 

other,  constantly  changing  both  tow  and  water,  until  the 
former  comes  out  of  the  barrels  unsullied ;  the  latter  can 
be  pumped  through  them  pure  and  limpid. 

Should  the  barrels  be  leaded,  which  all  writers  say 
occasionally  occurs  after  very  hard  and  very  rapid  shoot- 
ing, when  they  become  so  much  heated  as  to  melt  the  shot 
in  its  transit,  so  that  a  part  adheres  to  them — though  I 
confess  that  a  leaded  barrel  is  a  thing  I  have  yet  to  see — 
a  wire  brush,  or  a  little  fine  sand  sprinkled  on  the  tow, 
may  be  used.  If  the  brush,  it  should  be  of  brass  wire,  as 
softer,  and  less  liable  to  scratch  the  polish  of  the  barrels 
than  iron ;  if  sand,  the  less  the  better.  I  have  never  used 
either  in  my  life ;  and  I  have,  at  times,  shot  very  hard — 
to  the  extent,  I  doubt  not,  of  several  thousand  shots  in 
several  single  seasons,  and  my  guns  have  always  been  in  as 
good  condition  as  those  of  my  friends  and  neighbors. 

I  have  adhered  to  a  practice,  however,  which  I  strongly 
recommend  to  others,  of  having  the  breeches  of  my  gun 
taken  out  at  the  expiration  of  every  shooting  season,  by 
an  experienced  gunsmith,  so  that  the  whole  interior  may 
be  inspected,  and  the  least  flaw,  morsel  of  extraneous 
matter,  or  rust  spot,  detected  and  removed,  if  judged  ne- 
cessary, by  dry  reaming. 

The  barrels  thus  cold  washed,  wipe  them  dry  exter- 
nally, and  pour  into  the  muzzle  of  each,  from  the  spout  of 
a  tea-kettle,  nearly  boiling  hot  water,  until  they  run  over 
at  the  brim.  Reverse  them  and  let  them  drain,  standing 
erect  in  a  corner,  in  the  sunshine,  on  the  hob  of  the 
kitchen  grate,  for  five  minutes,  or  by  the  register  of  a  hot- 
air  furnace.  Wipe  the  cleaning-rod  dry,  replenish  the  jag 


102  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

with  clean  dry  tow,  as  much  as  you  can  force  into  the 
muzzles,  work  it  up  and  down  as  quickly  and  sharply  as 
you  can,  constantly  changing  the  tow,  until  not  only  no 
touch  of  moisture  is  sensible  on  the  swab,  but  the  barrels 
are  perceptibly  heated  through  by  the  friction. 

It  is  not  an  unlaborious  piece  of  work,  I  assure  my 
readers ;  and  if  they  be,  like  the  royal  Dane,  in  a  degree 
"  fat,  and  scant  of  breath,"  they  will  puff  and  blow,  and 
their  muscles  will  complain  before  the  task  is  accom- 
plished. Nevertheless,  the  work  will  be  well  repaid  by 
the  performance. 

The  tow  may  now  be  moistened,  at  the  most,  by  two 
drops  of  clarified  oil,  of  which  anon,  and  may  be  run  down 
each  barrel.  The  cavities  around  the  nipples,  and  all  the 
exterior  grooves  of  the  barrels  about  the  ramrod-pipes, 
elevated  ribs,  &c.,  should  now  be  rubbed  clean  with  a  bit 
of  flannel,  or  the  finger  of  a  kid  glove  stretched  over  a 
slip  of  pine  wood,  and  then  brushed  lightly  with  a  proper 
brush — a  soft  tooth-brush  is  as  good  as  any — moistened, 
as  before,  with  clarified  oil,  and  rubbed  with  a  piece  of 
chamois  leather  or  buckskin  until  dry ;  the  striker,  and 
above  all  the  cavity  of  it,  which  impinges  on  the  nipple, 
should  be  cleaned  out,  and  oiled  and  dried  in  the  same 
manner.  But,  unless  the  gun  has  been  exposed  for  a  long 
time  to  small  penetrating  rain  or  snow,  has  been  immersed 
in  water,  or  been  thoroughly  saturated  with  salt  air,  or 
unless  some  obstacle  or  hitch  is  perceptible  in  their  work- 
ing, I  do  not  recommend  the  removal  of  the  locks. 

Every  time  they  are  removed  and  replaced,  something 
is  lost  of  the  exquisite  finish  and  fitting,  where  the  wood- 


THE   GUN,    AND    HOW   TO    USE   IT.  103 

work  and  the  metal  come  together ;  which  is  one  of  the 
principal  points  of  superiority  in  London-made  guns  to  all 
others ;  it  seeming  impossible  in  them  that  the  air  itself, 
much  less  a  mote  of  dust  or  a  drop  of  dampness,  should 
penetrate  the  accurate  suture. 

The  lock-plates  externally  should  be  rubbed  and  oiled, 
as  should  the  trigger-guard,  the  heel-plate,  and,  in  fact,  all 
the  iron  work  of  the  stock.  The  wood,  which  in  the 
finest  English  guns  is  now  put  up  merely  in  oil,  with  no 
French  varnish  to  be  scratched  at  the  first  encounter  with 
stock  or  stone,  and  thenceforward  always  to  show  bruised 
and  ragged,  needs  only  plenty  of  elbow  grease  and  a  little 
furniture  oil  to  keep  it  in  perfect  condition.  The  ramrod 
must  be  oiled,  reinserted  in  its  pipes,  and  the  gun  is  clean, 
ready  to  be  shot  again  to-morrow,  or  to  be  laid  by  in  its 
case  until  once  more  wanted  in  the  field. 

If  the  latter,  lay  a  treble-folded  linen  rag,  dipped  in 
the  clarified  oil  and  pressed  dry,  between  the  striker  and 
the  nipples ;  lay  a  single  fold  of  the  same  over  each  muz- 
zle, and  force  it  down  with  a  wad  inside  it,  about  two 
inches  into  the  barrel. 

Clarified  oil  is  made  by  putting  a  handful  of  rusty 
nails,  old  iron,  or  shot,  into  a  bottle  of  the  best  salad  oil. 
In  less  than  a  month  all  the  impurities  of  the  oil  will  sink 
and  collect  about  the  metals,  and  the  residue,  when  drawn 
off  carefully,  instead  of  itself  promoting,  will  prevent 
oxidization. 

"  From  the  peculiar  construction  of  detonating  locks," 
[  quote  from  a  clever  little  English  work  by  "  Craven," 
under  a  title  similar  to  my  own,  "  they  should  not  be 


104  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

snapped  either  with  or  without  the  copper  caps,  except  in 
the  act  of  shooting.  When  the  gun  is  loaded,  the  flash  of 
the  detonating  powder  never  enters  the  inside  of  the  bar- 
rel ;  but  if  snapped  upon  the  caps,  when  the  gun  is  un- 
loaded, it  drives  the  detonating  gas  into  the  barrels,  which 
creates  rust;*  and  if  done  without  the  caps,  the  works 
are  liable  to  be  injured,  by  reason  of  the  cocks  meeting  no 
resistance  in  their  fall,  as  in  flint  locks. 

"  The  detonating  pegs,  cones,  or  nipples,  will  last  a 
season's  hard  shooting — "  I  have  known  them  to  last  half  a 
dozen — "  but  should  by  no  means  be  used  after  the  holes 
are  worn  large  by  repeated  firing ;  as  it  will  weaken  the 
force  of  the  gun,  and  damage  the  locks." 

Should  it  be  found  necessary  to  remove  the  locks — 
and  this  will  be  necessary  whenever  the  gun  shall  have 
been  immersed  in  water,  exposed  to  heavy  rain,  snow,  mist 
or  salt  air,  and  whenever  any  roughness  or  rigidity  shall 
be  discovered  in  the  working  of  the  locks,  and  advisable 
at  least  so  often  as  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  every 
season — the  mode  of  doing  so  is  as  follows  : 

Take  out  the  lock  screw,  which  passes  through  from 
the  left  to  the  right  side  immediately  in  front  of  the  cock ; 
and  with  a  gentle  shake,  or  a  very  slight  tap  on  the  inner 
side  of  the  strikers,  the  locks  will  be  dislodged  from  their 
places.  On  no  account,  in  case  of  their  adhesion,  insert 
any  thing  between  the  wood  and  the  metal  of  the  locks ; 
to  do  so  will  invariably  bruise  the  softer  substance,  injure 

*  This  gas  is  far  more  injurious  to  the  metals  than  that  evolved 
from  the  combustion  of  gunpowder,  or  than  that  arising  from  the  two 
powders  in  combination. — H.  W.  H. 


THE   GUN,    AND    HOW   TO    USE   IT.  105 

the  close  fitting  of  the  parts,  and  make  way  for  the  admis- 
sion of  rain  or  water. 

I  will  here  observe  that  bar-locks  are  by  far  the  better. 
Back-action  locks,  though  they  were  at  one  time  the  rage, 
do  not  ordinarily  work  so  smoothly^as  the  others,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  form  of  the  scear-spring,  and,  unless  the 
stock  be  made  thicker  and  more  clumsy  in  the  gripe,  which 
is  in  itself  both  an  eyesore  and  a  defect,  materially  weaken 
that  part  of  the  gun. 

If  the  lock,  when  taken  off,  be  bright,  clear  and  dry, 
nothing  will  be  required  but  to  wipe  it  off  with  a  bit  of 
dry  wash-leather ;  woollen  stuff  is  not  so  good,  as  bits  of 
the  lint  or  thread  are  apt  to  remain  behind  ;  to  brush  away 
any  dust  or  old  oil  which  may  remain  about  the  joints  and 
screws  of  the  springs  from  the  last  cleaning,  with  a  dry 
feather,  and  then  with  the  same  instrument  to  apply  a 
very  small  quantity  of  oil,  clarified  as  above,  to  those 
parts  which  work  one  into  the  other. 

If,  however,  rust  be  any  where  established,  or  if  much 
dirt  and  foulness  be  coagulated  in  places  where  it  cannot 
easily  be  got  at,  it  will  be  necessary  to  dissect  the  locks. 

To  do  so,  the  following  rules,  published  on  the  first 
introduction  of  the  percussion  system  by  a  leading  Lon- 
don gunmaker,  are  the  best  and  safest  to  follow : 

"  I  have  found  it  a  good  plan,  on  taking  the  parts  asun- 
der, to  drop  the  screws,  keeping  them  carefully  unmixed, 
into  a  dinner-plate,  containing  clarified  oil  to  the  depth  of 
the  eighth  of  an  inch,  and  to  wipe  them  dry  with  a  piece 
of  wash-leather  before  replacing  them.  The  same  thing 
may  be  done,  advantageously,  with  the  nipples  when  taken 
5* 


106  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEK. 

out  of  the  breeches,  and  in  this  case  it  will  be  well  to  draw 
through  the  tubes  a  needle  well  charged  with  floss  silk, 
which  will  collect  and  remove  any  oil  which  may  have  en- 
tered, and  which,  if  suffered  to  remain,  when  the  gun 
should  be  loaded,  intervening  between  the  powder  and  the 
cap,  would,  almost  certainly,  cause  a  miss,  or  at  least  a 
long  fire. 

"  Let  down  the  cock. 

"  Cramp  the  main  spring  sufficiently  to  remove  it," 
with  the  small  lock-vice  which  accompanies  every  com- 
plete gun-case ;  but  be  careful  not  to  over-cramp,  as  one 
may  so  break  or  injure  the  spring. 

"  Take  off  the  bridle. 

"  Press  scear  against  scear-spring  with  the  forefinger 
and  thumb  of  the  left  or  right  hand,  according  as  the  lock 
may  be  a  left  or  a  right  one ;  and  having,  with  the  fore- 
finger of  the  other  hand,  pushed  back  the  cock  as  far  as  it 
will  go,  let  the  scear-spring  go  back  gently,  when  the  pivot 
of  the  scear  is  easily  lifted  out  of  the  hole,  and  the  scear 
taken  out. 

"  Turn  out  the  scear-spring  screw,  and  take  out  the 
spring. 

"  Unscrew  and  take  out  the  cock."  To  do  this,  by^no 
means  wrench  it  off  by  forcing  a  screw-driver  between  the 
cock  and  the  plate,  but  loosen  it  by  gently  tapping  the  in- 
side of  the  cock  with  a  bit  of  soft  wood. 

"  Take  out  the  tumbler." 

This  done,  wipe  all  the  parts  thoroughly  dry,  remove 
the  dry  rust,  if  any,  by  means  of  a  little  oil  and  a  bur- 
nisher, lightly  oil  the  whole  machinery,  again  wipe  it  dry 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  107 

with  a  piece  of  wash-leather,  and  it  is  ready  for  recon- 
struction. 

"  To  put  them  together  again,  put  in  tumbler,  and 
screw  on  cock,  so  as  to  be  down. 

"  Put  cock  rather  backward,  and  screw  on  scear-spring. 

"  Push  cock  back  as  far  as  it  will  go ;  put  pivot  of 
scear  into  its  proper  hole,  and  then  taking  hold  of  scear 
with  the  thumb,  and  of  the  top  of  the  cock  with  the  fore- 
finger of  the  right  hand,  if  a  right-hand  lock,  and  vice  versa 
if  a  left,  compress  the  spring,  and  move  the  lock  forward 
and  down. 

"  Push  forward  the  swivel,  so  that  it  may  not  interfere 
with  the  screw,  and  drawing  the  cock  a  little  forward,  slip 
the  two  holes  in  the  bridle  upon  the  heads  of  the  scear 
and  tumbler  pivot,  and  screw  on  the  bridle. 

"  Having  let  down  the  cock,  and  pushed  forward  the 
swivel  as  far  as  it  will  go,  cramp  the  main-spring,  hook 
the  end  of  it  on  the  swivel,  move  it  up  to  its  place  on  the 
lock  plate,  and  unscrew  the  cramp." 

When  a  fine  gun  is  to  be  laid  aside  for  any  considerable 
length  of  time,  during  the  absence  of  the  owner,  or  under 
such  circumstances  that  it  cannot  be  readily  examined  and 
overhauled,  the  following  plan  will  be  found  admirable  for 
its  preservation. 

Stop  the  orifices  of  the  nipples  with  small  pegs  of  pine 
wood,  plunge  the  barrels,  breech  downward,  into  hot  water, 
pour  into  the  muzzles  melted  lard,  tallow,  or  suet,  carefully 
tried  out  and  clear  from  salt,  until  the  barrels  are  com- 
pletely full ;  oil  them  copiously,  without,  with  pure  clari- 
fied neat's-foot  oil,  or  loon-skin  oil,  which  is  better ;  and  if 


108  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

laid  away  for  half  a  dozen  years,  they  will  be  found,  when 
cleaned,  in  perfect  condition.  To  clean  them,  plunge  the 
barrels,  as  before,  into  hot  water,  and  stand  them  near  the 
fire  until  the  grease  within,  being  completely  liquefied,  can 
be  turned  out ;  the  barrels  should  be  then  washed,  dried, 
and  cleaned  as  usual  after  a  day's  shooting,  the  pine  pegs 
removed  from  the  nipples,  and  they  will  be  ready  for  any 
service. 

Loon-skin  oil,  mentioned  above,  is  thus  made.  Cut 
away  with  a  sharp  knife  all  the  fat,  nearly  half  an  inch  in 
thickness,  which  comes  away,  adhering  to  the  inside  of  the 
skin,  when  the  bird  is  flayed  ;  try  it  out  in  an  earthen  pot 
or  crucible,  purify  by  inserting  old  nails  or  shot  for  ten 
days,  draw  off  the  oil,  and  bottle. 

It  is  the  sovereignest  thing  in  the  world  to  prevent  rust, 
especially  the  rust  arising  from  sea-air ;  I  learned  the  use 
of  it  from  observing  that  the  gunners  at  Barnegat,  Egg 
Harbor,  &c.,  constantly,  when  out  on  the  bays,  keep  a  piece 
of  loon-skin  in  the  pocket  of  their  pea-jackets,  and  therewith 
wipe,  from  time  to  time,  with  the  fleshy  or  fatty  side,  the 
metallic  parts  of  their  fowling-pieces.  Perceiving  the 
effect  of  this,  I  improved  on  the  plan,  by  trying  out  and 
bottling  the  oil,  and  from  long  trial  can  pronounce  it  the 
best  detergent  and  preventive  of  rust. 

A  few  words  on  the  rifle,  that  most  American  of  all 
fire-arms,  as  adapted  to  sporting  purposes,  and  to  field  use 
as  opposed  to  target  practice,  and  I  pass  on  to  more  inter- 
esting, if  not  more  indispensable  portions  of  my  subject. 

The  ordinary  old-fashioned  rifle  of  the  American  back- 
woodsman, which  did  its  work  of  extermination  on  the 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO    USE   IT.  109 

red  Indian,  and  the  fatal  volleys  of  which  told  with  effect 
so  deadly  on  the  disciplined  battalions  of  England  during 
the  wars  of  the  Revolution  and  of  1812,  has  had  its  day ; 
it  is  superseded  ;  crowded  out  of  its  place  "by  newer  and 
more  puissant  arms ;  its  mission  is  ended,  whether  in  the 
field  of  the  chase  or  of  real  warfare. 

It  was  a  ponderous,  unwieldy,  long,  ill-balanced  barrel, 
of  weight  so  great,  as,  while  it  was  rendered  thereby  irk- 
some to  carry,  and  difficult  even  for  a  strong  man  to  fire 
but  from  a  rest,  to  prevent  all  recoil,  and  to  make  it  as 
steady  almost  as  a  fixture  in  any  hands  capable  of  balancing 
or  aiming  it. 

The  ball  was  ludicrously  small,  varying  from  80  to 
120  to  the  pound,  and  the  charge  of  powder  in  proportion. 
The  object  of  the  hunter  was  extreme  precision  at  exceed- 
ingly short  ranges,  the  densely  wooded  wilderness,  which 
was  alike  the  hunting  ground  and  the  battle  field,  present- 
ing insuperable  obstacles  to  seeing  an  object,  much  more 
drawing  a  fine  sight  on  it,  at  a  distance  exceeding  a  hun- 
dred yards. 

To  this  must  be  added,  that  in  the  old  days  of  scouting, 
Indian  fighting,  and  forest  hunting  in  the  Atlantic  States, 
both  lead  and  powder  were  matters  to  the  woodman  worth 
almost  their  weight  in  gold — that  it  was  desirable  to  get 
as  many  bullets,  as  could  by  any  means  be  compassed,  out 
of  a  pound  of  lead,  and  that  so  valuable  a  thing  as  a  charge 
was  never  to  be  wasted,  unless  with  the  certainty  of  bring- 
ing down  an  enemy  or  sending  home  a  meal. 

In  the  state  of  the  country  then  prevailing,  a  shot 
was  oftener  obtained  within  fifty  yards  than  beyond  that 


110  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

distance ;  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  within  one  hundred, 
a  ball  of  one  hundred  to  the  pound  may  be  lodged  in 
a  stationary  mark,  by  a  hand  and  eye  used  to  such  shoot- 
ing, with  such  precision  as  to  insure  death  to  the  object 
aimed  at. 

At  this  time  the  art  of  gunrnaking  of  all  kinds  was 
rude  in  the  extreme,  and  the  commonest  of  all  prevailing 
errors  was  the  almost  universal  belief  that  extreme  length 
of  barrel,  whether  in  the  rifle  or  fowling-piece,  produced 
corresponding  length  of  flight  to  the  missile. 

Rifle  barrels  were  not  unfrequently  made  of  five  feet 
and  upward  in  length,  and  the  ball  was  made  to  take  two 
or  more  spiral  perfect  revolutions  within  the  barrel  previous 
to  its  expulsion.  The  art  was  in  its  infancy ;  and  as  no 
pieces  were  made  which  could  outshoot  these  old-fashioned 
clumsy  implements,  while,  from  certain  necessities  of  his 
position  and  habits,  certain  peculiarities  of  his  character 
and  temperament,  the  American  backwoodsman  became 
perfect  in  the  use  of  the  weapon,  the  weapon  itself  came 
to  be  regarded  as  perfect,  and  itself  and  the  marksman 
who  wielded  it,  were  regarded  with  mingled  apprehension 
and  admiration. 

Still  it  was  never  adopted  by  any  other  nation,  and 
never  has  been  used,  in  the  true  sense,  as  a  sporting 
weapon — I  mean  as  one  used  to  kill  game  for  a  sport  and 
pastime,  and  not  for  the  value  of  the  game.  Its  extreme 
inadaptibility  to  rapid  firing,  especially  at  things  in  quick 
motion,  its  comparatively  limited  range,  the  want  of  weight 
in  its  ball,  which,  unless  it  hits  its  object  directly  in  a 
vital  spot,  is  of  little  more  effect  on  large  game  than  a 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  Ill 

pellet  of  shot,  all  combined  to  render  it  inefficient  and  un- 
popular. 

It  was  soon  found,  moreover,  that  it  was  the  weight 
and  not  the  length  of  the  barrel  that  did  the  work — that 
a  half  rotation,  or,  as  some  insist,  a  third,  within  the  barrel, 
gives  all  the  rotatory  motion  to  the  ball  which  is  desirable ; 
and  lastly,  that  weight  in  the  ball  itself  is  necessary  for  dis- 
tant firing  correctly,  independent  of  the  fact  that  an  ounce 
bullet,  inflicting  a  wound  not  of  necessity  mortal,  will  disable 
a  man  or  animal,  where  one  of  120  to  the  pound  will  be 
carried  off,  harmlessly  for  the  time,  in  the  very  vitals. 

With  this  came  the  first  change.  The  short  ounce-ball 
yager  rifle  was  adopted  generally  on  the  prairies  against 
large  quadrupeds,  and  was  found  to  outrange  the  small 
piece  infinitely,  and,  with  equally  good  shooting,  to  plant 
its  balls  as  accurately. 

For  a  long  time  the  double-barrelled  English  London- 
made  sporting  rules  were  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  the  weapon, 
placing  both  their  ponderous  balls  with  extraordinary 
powers  of  penetration  in  the  same  spot  at  three  hundred 
yards,  and  doing  their  work  fatally  at  twice  that  dis- 
tance. 

During  the  period  of  European  improvements  in  this 
arm,  science  made  no  advance  in  America,  save  in  what 
may  be  called  the  frivolities  and  fripperies  of  the  art. 
Target-shooting  from  rests,  with  telescope  sights,  patent- 
loading  muzzles,  and  other  niceties,  very  neat,  and  doubt- 
less telling  also  in  the  practice-ground,  but  wholly  useless 
and  ineffective  in  the  field,  came  into  vogue  with  all  the 
rifle-clubs  and  companies  of  nearly  all  the  original  thirteen 


112  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

States,  owing  partly  to  the  disappearance  of  those  species 
of  game  against  which  it  was  employed. 

In  the  European  armies  the  soldier's  rifle,  though 
effective  at  long  ranges,  was  ill-finished,  clumsy,  and  not  by 
any  means  a  weapon  with  which  to  allow  men,  much  less  to 
teach  them,  to  become  first-rate  shots.  The  first  move  in 
the  right  direction  was  the  heavy  British  two-grooved 
military  rifle  with  the  belted  ball.  Its  range  was  found  to 
be  what  was  then  thought  immense,  its  precision  great, 
and  it  was  an  available,  manageable,  telling,  and  killing 
weapon. 

As  a  sporting  piece,  it  still  to  a  certain  degree  holds 
its  own,  though  it  has  one  bad  fault — a  fatal  one  for  troops 
in  active  warfare — that  it  clogs  in  rapid  firing,  and  soon 
becomes  so  foul  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  load. 

This  in  turn  was  superseded  by  the  Minie  rifle,  used 
by  the  French  chasseurs  de  Vincennes,  the  principle  of 
which  is  duplex.  First,  it  contains  a  hollow  projection, 
sharp-pointed,  running  from  the  base  of  the  breech  per- 
pendicularly into  the  chamber,  which  bursts  the  cartridge 
when  it  is  driven  into  it,  and  through  which  the  igniting 
power  of  the  cap  is  carried  directly  into  the  centre  of  the 
charge.  Secondly,  the  ball  is  so  contrived  as  to  expand, 
after  the  impulse  is  conveyed  to  it,  fill  the  grooves  of  the 
barrel,  and  cut  its  way  out,  instead  of  merely  holding  its 
way  out  by  means  of  the  cuts  made  in  it,  as  it  was  forced 
down  in  loading. 

This  weapon  has  made  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
art  of  war.  The  Minie  rifle  executes  with  such  precision 
at  such  ranges  as  to  render  all  other  fire-arms  useless.  A 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  113 

good  shot  can,  and  does  not  unfrequently,  bring  down  bis 
object  at  1000,  and  even  at  1500  yards.  Artillery  have 
been  silenced  with  it  before  they  could  come  into  grape- 
range  ;  and  such  is  its  appalling  force  and  penetration, 
that  at  the  bloody  battle  of  Inkerman,  the  Minie  bullets, 
falling  into  the  serried  columns  of  the  Russian  foot,  were 
found,  in  many  instances,  after  the  fight  was  ended,  to  have 
pierced  three  and  four  men  in  succession,  inflicting  ghastly 
and  fatal  wounds  on  all. 

To  this  otherwise  formidable  weapon,  a  breech-loading 
principle  has  been  adapted  in  Europe;  but  it  is  as  yet 
slow,  incomplete,  and  in  one,  which  seems  hitherto  to  be 
admitted  as  the  best  weapon  of  the  kind,  the  Enfield  rifle, 
liable  to  clog  after  firing,  so  as  to  render  it  difficult  or 
impossible  to  load. 

We  now  come  to  the  various  American  patent  arms, 
recently  invented ;  and  one  of  these  I  consider  as,  beyond 
all  doubt,  the  best  rifle  ever  invented,  and  destined  to 
supersede  all  others,  both  for  the  chase  and  for  actual 
warfare. 

I  have  already  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  revolving 
and  breech- loading  principle,  as  applied  to  fowling-pieces, 
and  have  given  my  conviction  that  no  advantage  is  to  be 
gained  by  the  adoption  of  either.  On  coming  to  consider 
the  same  principle,  as  applied  to  the  rifle,  we  must  dis- 
tinguish between  that  weapon  as  required  for  military  and 
for  sporting  purposes ;  the  qualifications  of  the  two  being 
widely  different. 

For  the  former  purpose,  it  is  often  necessary  to  fire  a 
maximum  number  of  shots,  at  a  vast  range,  in  a  continu- 


114  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

ous  stream,  with  great  successive  rapidity,  almost  in  a 
minimum  space  of  time. 

For  the  latter,  to  fire  two  or  three  shots  almost  instan- 
taneously, either  at  one  animal  constantly  in  motion,  and 
increasing  its  distance  from  the  firer,  or  at  two,  or  possibly 
at  three  animals  starting  before  him,  simultaneously,  and 
going  from  him  at  great  velocity,  is  the  ne  plus  ultra. 
Of  revolvers,  there  are  several  kinds  recently  introduced, 
two  of  which  are  noticeable.  Colt's  and  Porter's  patent 
revolving  arms — the  former,  on  account  of  its  celebrity 
and  excellence,  as  a  pistol,  for  use  in  brief,  rapid  encoun- 
ters ;  the  latter,  on  account  of  its  utter  worthlessness  for 
any  purpose.  As  applied  to  a  military  rifle,  Colt's  revolv- 
ing chamber  fails,  for  several  reasons.  First,  it  cannot 
be  made  of  sufficient  calibre  to  carry  any  ball  of  telling 
weight,  at  long  range,  without  being  monstrously  unsym- 
metrical  and  unwieldy.  Secondly,  after  four  or  six  shots 
have  been  discharged,  the  cylinder  must  be  removed  and 
reloaded  by  a  slow  and  complex  operation,  during  which 
the  bearer  is  virtually  unarmed,  and  liable  to  be  ridden 
over  by  horse  or  charged  with  the  bayonet,  while  unable 
to  offer  any  resistance.  Thirdly,  it  is  difficult  to  be 
cleaned.  Fourthly,  it  cannot  be  loaded,  at  all,  but  by 
means  of  its  own  peculiar  apparatus — which  lost,  it  is  all 
but  useless.  Lastly,  if  injured,  or  out  of  order,  it  cannot 
be  repaired  by  any  ordinary  armorer  or  gunsmith. 

As  a  military  weapon,  therefore,  it  may  be  pronounced 
useless — this  objection  not  being  understood  as  applying 
to  cavalry  or  boarding  pistols,  to  be  used  only  during 
close,  rapid  combats  of  a  few  seconds  or  minutes'  duration, 


THE   GTJN,    AND  HOW   TO   USE   IT.  115 

without  continuous  firing.  For  these  are  of  admitted  ex- 
cellence. 

For  sporting  purposes,  though  the  rapidity  and  number 
of  its  discharges  are  all-sufficient,  the  difficulty  of  loading, 
the  want  of  sufficient  calibre,  and  the  consequent  failure 
at  long  ranges,  are  conclusive  against  it. 

Moreover,  it  is  clumsy  in  the  hand,  and  singularly  un- 
sightly— nor  are  these  slight  or  trivial  objections ;  for  of 
two  guns,  the  one  symmetrical  and  the  other  the  reverse, 
the  former  must  needs,  ccsteris  paribus,  shoot  the  better ; 
as  being  the  more  handy  and  manageable  in  taking  aim. 
Porter's  rifle  has  a  perpendicularly  revolving  cylinder, 
loading  on  the  outer  edge ;  and  if  any  flaw  should  occur  in 
the  metal,  causing  an  internal  communication  between  the 
chambers,  so  that  a  discharge  should  ensue,  four  or  five 
of  the  balls  would  take  effect  on  the  person  of  the  firer, 
and  the  whole  fabric  would  be  burst  and  blown  to  atoms. 

Add  to  this,  it  has  all  the  faults  ascribable  to  Colt's 
arm,  with  this  in  addition  to  them  :  that  aim  is  taken 
not  along  the  barrel,  or  over  the  axis  of  the  ball,  but 
along  a  sort  of  outrigger,  divergent  at  the  base  and  con- 
vergent toward  the  muzzle  of  the  piece.  By  an  arrange- 
ment of  screws,  it  can  be  so  adapted,  that  these  two  con- 
vergent lines,  the  one  made  by  the  sight  of  the  shooter  and 
the  other  by  the  flight  of  the  ball,  shall  meet  at  any  given 
distance ;  beyond  which  they  will  necessarily  intersect. 
But,  when  once  regulated  for  one  distance,  if  fired  at  an 
object  much  nearer,  the  lines  will  not  meet  by  some  inches 
or  feet ;  at  one  much  farther,  the  lines  will  cross,  with  the 
same  effect  of  missing  the  object,  however  true  the  aim. 


116  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

It  is  therefore,  at  best,  a  weapon  which  can  only  be  used 
effectively  at  one,  known  and  given,  distance;  and  is 
utterly  useless  at  any  other  range,  until  the  difference 
shall  have  been  calculated,  and  the  machinery  rearranged 
— an  operation  requiring  time,  and,  of  course,  utterly  in- 
consistent with  field  service. 

Of  breech-loading  pieces,  we  will  say  that  they  are  the 
great  desideratum  of  military  gunnery ;  that  the  superior- 
ity of  them  to  muzzle-loading  arms  is  greater  than  that 
of  percussion  to  flint-and-steel  locks ;  perhaps  as  great  as 
that  of  musketry  to  archery. 

For  sporting,  however,  the  gain  is  not  so  great.  No 
breech-loading  rifle  has  probably  ever  been  made,  with 
which  the  best  and  most  rapid  marksman  could  fire  two 
shots,  loading  for  the  second,  at  one  animal  running  at 
speed  away  from  him,  or  across  him — unless  it  were,  once 
in  a  thousand  times,  on  a  perfectly  open  and  level  plain,  at 
a  very  large  object — much  less  could  bring  down  two 
animals  in  quick  succession,  leaping  up  and  taking  flight 
at  the  same  moment. 

In  point  of  rapidity  of  firing,  therefore,  for  sporting 
purposes,  no  breech-loading  rifle  can  ever  equal,  much  less 
surpass,  a  finely  made,  accurately-sighted,  double-barrelled 
hunting  rifle,  such  as  are  turned  out  by  Purday,  Lang, 
Moore  and  Gray,  and  other  London  makers. 

The  obstacles  to  the  success  of  all  former  breech-load- 
ing arms  have  been — First,  the  difficulty  of  so  arranging 
the  juncture  of  the  chamber  with  the  barrel,  as  to  prevent 
the  escape  of  the  gaseous  ignited  fluid,  at  the  moment  of 
discharge.  If  this  subtle  fluid  escape,  it  will  speedily  eat 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  117 

away  the  metallic  faces  at  their  point  of  junction,  so  as  to 
render  the  arm  useless  ;  independent  of  the  fact,  that  if,  as 
must  necessarily  be  the  case,  the  escape  vent  be  contiguous 
to  any  portion  of  the  shooter's  person,  this  fluid  will 
seriously  scorch  him,  and  may  set  his  raiment  on  fire. 
Secondly,  the  liability  of  the  movable  portion  of  the  arm, 
and  the  crank  which  turns  it,  to  become  clogged  by  foul- 
ness, after  repeated  and  rapid  firing,  so  as  to  be  bound, 
stiff,  and,  at  last,  wholly  immovable.  Thirdly,  the  com- 
plicity of  their  workmanship,  the  difficulty  of  cleaning 
them,  their  liability  to  get  out  of  order,  and  their  incapa- 
bility of  ordinary  repair.  Fourthly,  inadaptability  to  any 
but  their  own  peculiar  ammunition ;  and  lastly — their 
want  of  symmetry,  and  consequent  unfitness  for  fine,  rapid, 
accurate  and  workmanlike  shooting. 

To  two  of  these  faults,  and  two  of  the  most  serious  of 
these,  Sharpe's  rifle,  which  has  of  late  acquired  so  much 
Kansas  notoriety,  is  with  justice  held  liable.  The  gaseous 
fluid  does  escape  dangerously,  where  the  two  metallic  faces 
slide  one  against  the  other  ;  so  much  so,  that  I  have  seen  a 
person  seriously  scorched,  in  firing  a  few  shots  rapidly ; 
nor  can  I  doubt  that,  after  a  few  hundred  shots,  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  weapon  would  be  seriously  affected  by  the 
burning  away  or  melting  of  the  metal ;  as  occurs  in  the 
vents  of  cannon  and  the  touch-holes  of  flint-and-steel 
guns,  after  much  rapid  firing.  The  other  fault  is  its  ex- 
treme clumsiness  and  want  of  symmetry. 

Perry's  arm,  which  I  have  mentioned  above,  and  of 
which  a  sketch  is  inserted  below,  is  liable  to  no  one  of 
these  charges. 


118  MANUAL  FOE    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

I  speak  positively,  on  conviction  founded  on  long  use, 
frequent  experiment,  and  most  accurate  examination. 

I  have  a  rifle  of  this  plan,  carrying  a  ball  of  80  to  the 
Ib.  if  round,  of  about  double  that  weight,  if  acorn-shaped — 
which  I  have  fired  several  hundred  times,  with  my  bare 
hand  exactly  under  the  point  of  junction,  and  never  have 
been  sensible  of  the  least  escape  of  gas ;  nor  are  either  of 
the  metallic  faces  in  the  slightest  degree  burnt,  corroded, 
or  altered  in  appearance,  by  the  sharp  firing  to  which  they 
have  been  subjected. 

From  forty  to  fifty  shots  have  been  fired  in  succession, 
with  cartridges  made  from  Dupont's  filthy  gunpowder, 
and,  though  the  operation  of  opening  and  reclosing  the 
breech  was,  in  a  slight  degree,  checked,  it  was  not  seri- 
ously impeded.  With  cartridges  filled  with  good  sporting 
powder,  I  have  fired  thirty  shots  a  day  three  days  in  suc- 
cession, without  cleaning,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  its 
operation,  and  have  found  no  difficulty  with  the  arm. 

The  military  pieces,  both  carbines  and  pistols,  have 
the  loading-breeches  arranged  to  play  somewhat  more 
easily  than  those  of  finer  fabric ;  and  I  prefer  the  former, 
as  equally  free  from  the  escape  of  the  gas,  and  as  more 
convenient  in  service. 

The  weapons  are — as  will  be  seen  at  once  from  the  fol- 
lowing sketch,  displaying,  first,  the  rifle  closed  and  ready  for 
firing ;  second,  the  rifle  with  the  trigger  and  trigger-guard 
turned  forward,  and  the  orifice  of  the  chamber  thrown 
upward,  to  receive  the  charge ;  and  third,  the  loading- 
breech,  taken  out  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning — singularly 
symmetrical,  handy,  and  even  elegant  of  form. 


THE   GTJN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  119 


Ten  shots  can  easily  be  fired,  to  hit  the  mark,  by  a 
practised  hand,  within  the  minute ;  and  I  have  never 
taken  in  my  hand  any  gun,  which  it  is  easier  to  bring  to 
the  shoulder  and  eye,  on  which  it  is  more  ready  to  take  a 
swift  and  sure  aim,  or  which  shoots  more  truly  or  at  a 
better  range. 

It  is  extremely  simple,  the  commonest  smith  being  able 
to  repair  every  part.  No  gun  can  be  cleaned  with  greater 
facility,  since,  on  the  removal  of  the  breech  by  the  with- 
drawal of  two  pivots  and  a  guide-screw,  the  light  is  ad- 
mitted to  the  interior  of  the  barrel,  at  the  base,  so  that 
the  smallest  speck  of  dust  or  oxidization  can  be  at  once 
detected  and  removed. 

The  base  of  the  loading  chamber,  which  receives  the 
charge,  is  furnished  with  a  hollow  thorn,  or  tige,  as  it  is 


120  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

termed  in  the  Minie  rifle,  which  tears  the  cartridge,  and, 
being  inserted  by  a  screw,  is  itself  removable,  so  as  to 
render  the  chamber  also  pervious  to  light,  air,  and  water, 
for  purposes  of  cleanliness.  No  ordinary  gun  can  be 
cleaned  so  rapidly  and  thoroughly ;  nor  can  it  be  ascer- 
tained of  any  other,  so  surely,  whether  it  is  clean  or  not, 
before  laying  it  aside. 

To  this  may  be  added,  that  it  is  the  safest  of  all  arms  ; 
since,  while  loading,  the  trigger  is  removed  from  the  lock 
on  which  it  operates,  and  the  cone  with  the  copper-cap 
subtracted  from  the  hammer,  not  returning  into  position 
so  as  to  be  subject  to  discharge,  until  the  chamber  is  again 
locked  into  its  place  as  conjoined  with  the  barrel. 

The  ordinary  load  is  a  cartridge,  containing  the  powder 
and  ball,  or  slug,  which  is  merely  thrust  into  the  chamber, 
when  it  is  torn  as  described  above ;  and  so  soon  as  the 
guard  is  drawn  back  to  its  proper  place,  the  arm  is  ready 
for  firing,  inasmuch  as,  if  desired,  it  is  a  self-primer. 

The  stock  contains  a  long  hollow  tube  or  reed  of  brass, 
enclosing  a  spiral  spring,  which,  when  filled  with  thirty 
copper  caps,  is  inserted  at  the  butt,  and  at  every  return 
of  the  breech  to  its  place  after  the  cartridge  is  received, 
the  old  cap  falling  off  as  it  is  deflected,  fits  a  fresh  pne  on 
the  nipple. 

A  peculiarity  however,  and  a  most  important  one,  of 
this  arm  is,  that,  should  the  supply  of  proper  cartridges 
run  out,  it  can  be  loaded  quite  as  readily,  though  not  quite 
BO  fast,  with  a  common  horn  and  patched  bullet,  as  with  its 
appropriate  charge ;  or,  that  if  by  any  chance  the  breech 
should  become  fixed,  it  can  be  charged  like  any  other  piece 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  121 

from  the  muzzle  with  a  ramrod ;  and  that,  either  when 
thus  or  otherwise  loaded,  it  can  be  capped  by  the  hand, 
precisely  after  the  manner  of  any  other  variety  of  the 
firelock. 

With  the  cartridge,  hand-capped,  it  can  be  fired  delib- 
erately five  or  six  times  in  the  minute ;  and  I  should  think, 
though  I  have  never  tried  it,  three  or  four  times,  if  not 
more,  with  loose  ammunition. 

If  these,  however,  were  the  only  recommendations  of 
this  arm,  it  would  have  been  needless  to  waste  words 
upon  it,  as  applicable  to  sporting  purposes.  But  it  has 
another  unrivalled  superiority  to  any  fire-arm  I  have  ever 
seen — its  range  and  power  of  penetration. 

The  small-calibre  gun,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  does  its 
work  tellingly  and  killingly  at  ranges  which  used  to  be 
considered  impossible,  three  and  four  hundred  yards'  dis- 
tance. But  the  short  cavalry  carbines  of  22  or  24-inch 
barrel  carry  a  round  ball  of  -|  oz.  and  an  acorn-shaped 
one  of  twice  the  weight,  which  does  fearful  execution  at 
500  paces.  I  have  seen  a  round  ball,  from  one  of  these 
short  pieces,  pierce  two  three-inch  wet  oak  planks,  at  a 
foot  distance  asunder,  and  then  bury  itself,  eight  inches 
deep,  in  the  body  of  a  tulip  tree. 

The  military  rifle  of  the  same  pattern  with  a  ball  of 
about  ^  oz.  round,  £  oz.  conical,  has  been  proved  capable 
of  striking  the  size  of  a  horse  at  the  enormous  distance  of 
1400  yards,  and  with  a  force  as  fatal  as  its  range  and 
accuracy  are  tremendous. 

Tried  before  a  military  board  in  Canada,  against  the 
Minie  rifle,  it  beat  that  queen  of  weapons,  as  it  has  been 
6 


122  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

styled,  out  of  sight,  in  all  the  three  great  desiderata — ac- 
curacy, range,  and  force  of  execution. 

All  these  points  being  taken  into  consideration.  I  am 
inclined  to  prefer  Perry's  breech-loading  rifle,  even  as  a 
sporting  weapon,  to  any  gun  ever  yet  invented  ;  adopting, 
for  that  purpose,  a  very  simple  modification  of  its  ordinary 
form.  For  use  in  close  covert,  and  still  more  on  horse- 
back, in  which  condition,  whoever  has  tried  it  knows  that 
it  is  almost  an  impossibility  to  load  a  rifle,  its  superiority 
is  inconceivably  pre-eminent ;  and,  even  in  common  use, 
the  saving  of  the  actual  labor  of  forcing  the  patched  ball 
down  a  foul  barrel,  is  a  matter  of  no  inconsiderable 
moment 

A  good  rider  might  load,  fire,  reload  and  fire  again,  a 
carbine  of  this  construction,  while  sitting  in  his  saddle, 
with  his  horse  at  full  speed,  almost  as  readily  as  he  could 
do  so  on  foot. 

For  buffalo-hunting,  in  the  great  plains,  no  weapon 
could  by  any  means  compete  with  this ;  and  were  I  about 
to  stake  my  life  on  the  continuous  and  unvarying  perform- 
ance of  any  fire-arm  I  have  yet  tried,  this  is  that  on  which 
I  should  determine  the  risk. 

The  cause  of  its  superior  carriage  is  simple  and  easily 
explained,  and  is  due  to  its  peculiar  construction ;  pro- 
ducing by  a  different  mode  the  same  effect  as  is  obtained 
by  the  expansive  bullet  which  forms  the  peculiarity  of  the 
Minie  rifle.  In  the  ordinary  rifled-barrel  the  ball  is 
driven  down  through  an  arrangement  of  sharp-edged  spiral 
grooves,  which  cut  it  into  ridges  and  furrows  in  its  descent. 
On  its  projection,  it  passes  out,  retained  in  its  position 


THE    GUN,    AND    HOW   TO    USE   IT.  123 

within  those  grooves  by  the  ridges  previously  cut  in  it ; 
which  mode  of  exit  communicates  to  it  the  rotary  motion, 
whence  its  efficacy. 

In  the  Minie  rifle,  the  hollow  conical  ball  is  made  to 
expand  by  a  wedgelike  appendage,  forced  into  it  by  the 
explosion  of  the  powder,  and  so  fills  the  grooves,  which 
had  not  previously  acted  on  it,  and  cuts  its  way  out,  gain- 
ing its  motion  by  its  exit,  not  by  a  form  impressed  on  it  in 
its  descent.  In  Perry's  arm,  the  chamber,  and  the  ball 
inserted  into  it,  are  both  larger  than  the  grooved  barrel, 
through  which  the  latter  is  to  be  propelled ;  and  the  pro- 
jectile, which  enters  the  barrel,  for  the  first  time  on  the 
discharge  of  the  piece,  a  perfect  sphere,  is  found,  after  its 
emission,  to  be  cut  into  an  irregular  cylinder,  deeply 
grooved  and  ribbed.  The  effect  of  this  in  the  attainment 
of  accuracy  is  self-evident. 

Why  the  excess  of  friction  does  not,  as  theoretically  it 
should,  diminish  the  velocity  and  force  of  the  projectile,  I 
cannot  explain.  It  would  seem  that  so  far  from  doing  so, 
it  increases  both. 

At  all  events,  the  matter  is  not  one  of  theory,  but  of 
practised  and  established  proof. 

These  guns  can  be  made  to  order,  at  the  factory  in 
Newark,  N.  J.,  of  any  dimensions,  calibre,  form,  weight, 
and  finish  requisite.  If,  happily,  the  manufacture  had 
been  set  on  foot  anywhere  else,  in  the  United  States,  the 
arms  would,  undoubtedly,  have  long  ago  attained  the  re- 
pute they  deserve,  and  would  have  been  in  general  use. 

But,  according  to  the  wont  of  the  inefficient,  unenter- 
prising, pennywise  and  poundfoolish  system  of  business 


124  MANTTAT.   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

of  the  twopenny  community  among  which  it  is  located, 
after  being  brought  to  perfection  and  proved  satisfactorily, 
at  some  considerable  expense,  the  small  farther  advance 
needed  to  set  it  in  operation  before  the  public,  is  not 
forthcoming ;  and,  in  consequence,  the  best  weapon  in  the 
world  remains  comparatively  unknown,  while  half  a  dozen 
mere  pretenders  are  reaping  golden  premiums. 

This  arm  can  be,  and  is,  made  double-barrelled  quite 
as  effectively  as  single,  and  can  be  finished  and  orna- 
mented up  to  any  desired  limit. 

I  should  choose,  for  my  own  use,  a  double  barrel  to 
carry  a  conical  ball  of  precisely  one  ounce  weight,  the 
round  bullet  being  proportionably  lighter,  of  from  28  to 
30-inch  barrel — the  shorter  length,  if  to  be  used  principally, 
or  much  on  horseback — with  a  weight  of  not  to  exceed 
ten  pounds.  It  should  have  a  plain  fowling-piece  stock 
for  quick  shooting,  and  rather  an  open  V  shaped  back- 
sight to  facilitate  rapidity  of  taking  aim,  though  it  might 
be  furnished,  also,  with  a  telescope  back-sight,  and  thread- 
and-ball  end-sight,  for  target  practice  and  rest  firing. 

For  off-hand  shooting  and  real  work  in  the  field,  such 
gimcrackeries  are  useless  and  ridiculous. 

I  should  prefer  the  gun  to  be  finished  in  plain  blue 
steel,  without  any  ornament  or  engraving,  as  easier  to  keep 
clean,  less  likely  to  absorb  rust,  and  on  the  whole  more 
sportsmanlike.  Such  a  weapon  can,  I  presume,  be  fur- 
nished of  the  best  quality  for  about  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  I  will  insure  it  to  shoot  to  the  builder's  satisfaction, 
and  to  kill  deer,  horse  or  man,  if  held  fairly  on  its  mark, 
at  any  distance  from  500  to  1000  yards. 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  125 

The  mode  of  selecting  a  rifle  to  suit  the  shooter,  is 
identical  with  that  of  choosing  a  shot  gun.  The  way  to 
ascertain  its  operation,  is  for  the  buyer  to  have  it  tried  in 
his  own  presence,  at  arm's  length  and  at  rest,  at  long  and 
short  ranges,  with  the  wind,  against  the  wind,  and  across 
the  wind — which  last,  if  it  be  blowing  any  thing  like  a 
respectable  breeze,  is  the  hardest  test  of  all — by  some  one 
in  whose  shooting,  if  he  be  not  confident  of  his  own,  he 
may  have  perfect  reliance.  If  it  execute  quickly,  surely 
and  forcibly,  he  may  be  sure  he  has  got  what  he  requires. 
But,  by  all  means,  let  him  insist  on  trying  it,  or  seeing  it 
tried,  in  the  open.  No  testing  in  a  gallery  of  fifteen  or 
thirty  paces  is  worth  sixpence,  as  a  real  proof,  either  of 
the  weapon  or  of  the  shooter ;  and  none  but  a  tyro  would 
dream  of  purchasing  on  such  a  childish  assay.  Distance 
and  penetration  are  the  only  true  tests.  At  twenty  feet 
a  schoolboy's  steel  cross-bow,  with  a  deal  bolt,  will  snuff 
a  candle  ;  at  a  hundred  yards  it  will  hardly  hit  a  house. 

If,  notwithstanding  all  that  I  have  written,  the  hunter 
lean  to  the  old  single  rifle,  let  him  select  one  of  not  less 
than  a  £  ounce  round  ball,  seven  or  eight  pounds'  weight, 
and  33  to  36-inch  barrels,  by  any  American  maker,  and 
he  can  scarce  go  wrong. 

If  he  want  a  supereminent  double,  let  him  pay  Purday, 
Moore  or  Lang,  of  London,  fifty  guineas  for  his  last  and 
best  turn-out,  and  he  will  not  be  disappointed ;  but  in  my 
mind,  if  he  prefer  a  double,  he  will  do  well  if  he  cause 
each  barrel  to  be  separately  sighted  at  the  breech  and  on 
the  end,  instead  of  in  the  ordinary  method,  which  sights 
both  intermediately  along  the  dividing  elevation. 


126  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

What  is  lost  of  elegance  in  appearance,  in  this  mode, 
will  be  more  than  overbalanced,  whatever  the  gunmakers 
may  say  to  the  contrary,  in  precision  of  fire. 

And  with  these  brief  remarks  on  the  rifle,  and  the 
mode  of  choosing  it,  I  shall  pass,  with  no  farther  pause, 
to  the  consideration  of  the  modus  operandi — the  how  to 
use  the  gun  of  whatever  kind  in  the  field ;  how  to  learn 
to  shoot  deliberately,  accurately  and  correctly  as  to  prin- 
ciples ;  how  to  kill  on  the  wing,  or  at  full  speed,  with  loose 
shot,  and  how  at  rest,  or  in  rapid  motion  with  the  single 
ball. 

This,  after  all,  is  the  whole  that  I  can  attempt  by  pre- 
cept. Some  men  take  to  shooting  almost  by  instinct,  as  a 
thoroughbred  setter  does  to  pointing  and  backing,  de  race, 
as  the  French  have  it,  by  the  accident  of  birth ;  others 
cannot  by  any  toil  of  practice  or  amount  of  indoctrination 
be  tutored  into  acquiring  it.  The  eye,  the  finger,  the 
nerve,  the  temper,  have  all  something,  more  or  less,  to  do 
with  it ;  and,  no  more  than  a  poet,  do  I  believe  that  a 
crack  shot  can  be  made,  save  by  the  special  ordinance  of 
nature. 

Still  if  one  cannot  be  made  a  poet,  he  can  at  least  be 
taught  the  difference  between  blank  verse  and  rhyme, 
between  Milton's  Lycidas  and  Christy's  "  Old  Uncle 
Ned;"  and,  if  he  can  never  be  brought  to  cut  down  his 
twenty  consecutive  shots,  clean  and  quick  in  close  covert, 
with  the  sangfroid  of  an  artist,  he  can,  at  least,  be  taught 
to  fire  his  gun  off  without  killing  himself,  his  neighbor,  or 
his  dog;  and,  unless  he  be  the  clumsiest  and  slowest  of 
the  human  kind,  to  kill  a  fair  proportion  of  his  shots 


THE   GUN,    AND   HOW   TO   USE   IT.  127 

decently  and  creditably,  if  not  brilliantly  or  like  an  artist. 
It  may  be  a  consolation  to  beginners  to  know  that  a  strong 
inclination  toward  field-sports  and  shooting  rarely  occurs, 
where  practice,  if  persevered  in,  will  not  ultimately  insure 
proficiency.  In  a  lifetime,  I  remember  but  two  instances 
of  men,  passionately  fond  of  shooting,  who  never  could 
compass  even  the  humblest  mediocrity,  but  continued  to 
the  end  blazing  at  every  thing,  slap-dash,  hit  or  miss,  and 
seemingly  as  well  content  to  make  a  noise,  as  to  kill  game 
like  a  Lord  Kennedy  or  a  Captain  Scott. 

In  conclusion,  no  one  need  despair.  The  introduction 
of  percussion  locks  has  so  simplified  the  art  or  science,  call 
it  which  you  may,  of  shooting  on  the  wing,  that  it  is  much 
rarer  now  to  find  a  dismally  bad  performer  than  a  crack 
shot. 

The  latter  was  in  my  boyish  days,  rara  avis  in  terris  ; 
nowadays,  every  second  man  is  a  fair  shot,  and  every 
sixth,  of  those  I  mean  who  hold  to  the  gun  at  all,  an 
artist.  In  the  mean  time, 

jEquam  memento  rebus  in  arduis  * 
Servare  mentem, 

and  be  "  deliberate  promptitude  "  your  motto  and  the  mark 
for  your  attainment. 

*  liemember  in  difficulty  to  preserve  an  equal  mind. 


HOW  TO  LEAEN  TO  SHOOT, 

ON  THE   WING,    RUNNING,    OK   AT   REST,    WITH   LOOSE 
SHOT,    OR   SINGLE   BALL. 

THE  next  thing,  after  becoming  the  owner  of  a  gun,  or 
before  it,  as  may  be,  is  to  learn  the  rudiments  of  the 
art  of  shooting,  and  this  is  only  to  be  done  by  constant 
and  careful  practice. 

The  great  point  of  difficulty,  and  the  method  of  avoid- 
ing it,  are  well  described  in  the  following  sentences,  which 
I  quote  from  the  "  Oakleigh  Shooting  Code,"  a  work  of 
decided  merit,  though  not  free  from,  what  I  must  esteem, 
heresies. 

"  We  think,"  says  the  author,  and  herein  I  fully  agree 
with  him,  "  that  the  generality  of  shooters  use  a  gun  prop- 
erly, as  regards  throwing  the  end  of  it  upon  the  object 
aimed  at  and  drawing  the  trigger,  and  that  any  inaccuracy 


HOW   TO    LEAKN   TO   SHOOT.  129 

of  aim  must  be  attributed  to  the  eye  not  being  in  the  proper 
place  when  the  aim  is  taken. 

"  The  habit  of  missing  seldom  arises  from  inability  to 
throw  the  end  of  the  gun  straight  upon  the  bird  ;  but  from 
the  eye  not  being  directly  behind  the  breech,  which  it 
necessarily  must  be  for  good  shooting. 

"  If  there  were  a  sight  at  each  end  of  the  barrel,"  as 
there  is  in  the  rifle,  "  it  would  be  requisite  to  keep  shifting 
the  gun,  until  both  sights  were  in  a  line  between  the  eye 
and  the  mark  ;  that,  however,  with  a  gun  not  well  mounted 
to  the  eye  and  shoulder,  would  be  too  complex  an  opera- 
tion ;  for,  before  it  could  be  accomplished,  a  swift  bird 
would  be  out  of  reach ;  it  follows,  then,  that  the  shooter's 
attention  should  be  directed  only  to  the  sight  at  the  top 
of  the  barrel,  and  the  breech  end  should  come  up  mechan- 
ically to  the  proper  level. 

';  If  the  sportsman  will  take  aim  alternately  at  objects 
on  his  right,  on  his  left,  on  the  ground,  and  in  the  air, 
without  moving  his  body  or  taking  his  gun  from  his  shoul- 
der, he  will  at  once  see  the  difficulty  of  keeping  the  eye 
directly  behind  the  breech.  To  be  a  proficient  in  shoot- 
ing, he  must  in  some  way  be  able  to  do  that  mechanically ; 
for,  when  aiming  at  a  moving  object,  his  attention  can  only 
be  paid  to  placing  the  end  of  the  gun  on  that  object. 
AVhen  bringing  up  a  gun  to  the  shoulder  in  a  gunniakers 
shop,  it  is  easy  to  bend  down  the  head  to  the  exact  spot 
for  looking  along  the  sight-plate ;  but  it  is  a  very  different 
thing  when  shooting  at  birds  on  the  wing.  The  best  way 
to  prove  whether  a  stock  suits,  or,  in  other  words,  whether 
the  user  of  it  can  bring  it  up,  as  it  were,  mechanically,  and 
6* 


130  MANUAL   FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

without  an  effort,  to  the  proper  place,  is  to  fire  hastily,  on 
a  dark  night,  at  a  lighted  candle  placed  against  a  wall,  at 
about  forty  paces  distant." 

This,  it  may  be  observed,  is  very  well  for  one  who  is 
already  "  a  shot,"  to  try  a  gun  ;  but  it  gives  no  clue  to  the 
attainment  of  the  skill  which  enables  the  gunner  to  cover 
his  object  quickly  and  correctly.  What  follows  is  ex- 
cellent. 

"  When  a  person  is  nervous,  or  afraid  of  recoil,  he 
naturally  raises  his  head,  and  consequently  shoots  above 
the  mark ;  on  firing  he  unconsciously  throws  his  head  back, 
and  then,  seeing  the  bird  above  the  end  of  the  gun,  he 
fancies  he  shot  under  it,  when  the  reverse  is  the  fact. 

"  We  may  also  observe,  that  if  the  shooter  do  not  keep 
his  head  down  to  the  stock,  he  will  probably  draw  it  aside, 
so  that  his  aim  will  be  as  if  taken  from  the  left  hammer, 
which  would  of  course  throw  the  charge  as  much  to  the 
left  of  the  mark,  as  raising  the  head  would  above  it. 

"  The  main  point,  then,  in  taking  aim  is  to  keep  the 
head  down  to  the  stock  and  the  eye  low  behind  the  breech. 
The  sportsman,  who  can  from  habit  or  practice,  invariably 
bring  his  eye  down  to  the  same  place  and  keep  it  steadily 
there,  so  that  he  always  begins  the  race  from  the  same 
starting  point,  will  distance  all  competitors." 

This  is  indisputably  true,  and  all  old  sportsmeu,  who 
shoot  sufficiently  well  to  reason  on,  and  account  for  the 
causes  of  their  shooting  ill,  on  some,  one  or  other,  day, 
whether  from  being  physically  or  mentally  out  of  order, 
long  out  of  practice,  or  other  accidents,  are  aware  of  this 
habit  of  throwing  up  the  head,  when  unsteady,  at  the 


HOW  TO  LEAEN  TO  SHOOT.          131 

moment  of  firing.  The  same  malpractice  will  be  frequent- 
ly produced,  even  when  a  person  is  steady,  by  the  trigger, 
which  is  expected  to  yield  to  the  accustomed  pressure,  not 
giving  way  without  a  jerking  pull;  and  still  more  so  by 
the  cap,  after  giving  the  ineffectual  click  of  a  miss-fire  not 
followed  by  a  report,  suddenly  exploding  a  second  too 
late.  The  head  is  nearly  certain  to  go  up,  and  the  shot 
to  be  wasted  above  the  mark. 

The  writer,  doubtless,  does  not  intend  to  be  understood 
as  asserting  that,  after  keeping  his  eye  low  down  behind 
the  breech,  the  practised  shooter  takes  aim  at  a  flying  bird, 
or  running  animal,  as  he  would  do  with  a  rifle  at  a  mark, 
along  the  barrel.  The  beginner  must  do  so  in  a  degree, 
but  so  soon  as  the  facility  of  so  doing  is  acquired,  the 
practice  must  be  laid  aside ;  or  the  learner  will  never  rise 
to  any  thing  above  mediocrity,  but  must  always  continue  a 
poking  shot. 

This  is  the  cause  which  renders  it  so  extremely  diffi- 
cult for  a  person,  who  has  become  by  long  practice  a  first- 
rate  rifle  shot,  and  has  grown  by  use  •  perfectly  one  with 
that  weapon,  ever  to  become  a  crack  shot  on  the  wing. 

He  dwells  too  long  on  his  aim,  and  follows  or  pokes — 
as  it  is  technically  called — after  his  bird,  and  rarely 
attains  the  art  of  cutting  it  down,  sharp  and  sure,  at  a 
snap  shot,  as  it  flashes  across  an  opening  in  a  brier  brake, 
or  twists  among  thickset  saplings. 

The  art  to  be  acquired  is  this  :  to  bring  up  the  gun 
with  its  sight  on  the  object,  or  so  much  above,  below,  or 
before  it,  as  you  intend  to  fire,  of  which  more  anon,  hav- 


132  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

ing  the  eye,  the  breech,  the  point  of  the  gun  and  the  mark 
in  the  same  plane  of  elevation  or  depression. 

One  other  thing  I  believe  to  be  equally  indispensable, 
which  I  have  never  seen  mentioned  in  any  written  instruc- 
tions on  the  subject  of  shooting;  that  the  top  of  the 
barrels  should  lie,  when  the  piece  is  at  the  shoulder  and 
the  aim  taken,  flat  and  square  across  the  eye,  so  that  a 
level  rested  upon  them  should  be  in  the  exact  plane  of 
the  horizon. 

Unless  this  be  the  case,  the  lines  of  sight  along  the 
patent  elevation  and  of  the  projected  shot  will  not  be  iden- 
tical, much  less  the  lines  of  fire  of  the  two  barrels,  and 
consequently  the  aim  will  be  faulty. 

The  following  precepts  will  be  found,  I  think,  to 
embody  the  best  method  of  acquiring  the  mastery  of  this  ; 
and  here  I  would  beg  to  caution  my  young  readers, 
that  these  indoctrinations  are  not  merely  intended  for  the 
use  of  those  who  do  not  shoot  at  all ;  but  for  all  those — 
whether  they  shoot  well  at  the  mark,  off-hand  or  at  rest, 
whether  they  are  dead  sure  of  a  robin  on  an  apple  bough, 
or  a  high-holder  on  the  summit  of  a  dry,  dead  tree,  or  not — 
who  do  not  shoot  ivell  on  the  wing. 

I  believe  it  to  be  a  common  error  with  young  shooters 
in  America,  where  every  boy,  who  lives  in  the  country, 
has  more  or  less  use  of  the  gun  early  in  his  teens,  to  con- 
tinue too  long  content  to  shoot  sitting,  to  learn  to  shoot 
too  well  sitting,  and  to  acquire  a  habit  of  taking  such  &n 
aim,  even  when  using  shot,  as  would  insure  killing  the 
object  with  ball. 

Such  a  habit,  once  acquired,  has  to  be  unlearned,  before 


HOW   TO    LEARN   TO    SHOOT.  133 

great  proficiency  can  be  hoped  for  on  the  wing,  or  at 
running  objects ;  and  I  would  undertake,  with  far  more 
confidence  of  turning  him  out  a  crack  shot,  a  young  man, 
who  had  never  fired  a  gun  in  his  life,  than  one  who  was 
sure  death  to  a  chipping  bird  on  a  rail,  or  a  ground  squir- 
rel on  a  stone  wall,  at  forty  yards. 

This  is  not  the  case  in  Europe,  where  the  children  of 
the  wealthy,  of  landowners  especially,  are  taught  to  ride 
and  shoot,  from  their  youth  upward,  as  regularly  as  to 
read  and  write ;  the  latter  especially,  if  not  solely,  with  a 
view  to  shooting  on  the  wing— and  where  the  children  of 
the  poor,  unless,  unhappily  for  them,  their  parents  chance 
to  be  either  poachers  or  gamekeepers,  do  not  shoot  at  all. 

But  in  America,  it  is  generally  and  undoubtedly  the 
case.  It  is  the  fact,  which  renders  the  rural  and  even 
urban  population  so  easily  convertible  into  soldiers ;  and 
which,  when  they  are  converted  into  soldiers,  renders 
their  fire  so  deadly. 

There  are  in  every  community  hundreds  on  hundreds 
of  men  and  boys,  who  never  had  a  rifle  in  their  hands, 
yet  who  on  first  taking  one  up  will  shoot  with  considerable 
accuracy,  and  in  a  week's  practice  will  be  marksmen. 
They  have  been  all  their  lives  learning,  with  the  fowling- 
piece,  to  be  bad  shots  with  that  weapon,  and  capital  shots 
with  a  weapon  of  which,  perhaps,  they  have  never  heard. 

This  is  precisely  what  they  have  got  to  unlearn,  ab 
initio,  before  they  can  become  good  shots  at  game ;  but 
their  acquired  skill  will  yet  do  yeoman  service,  when  they 
need  it,  with  the  rifle,  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  on 
the  other  side  of  the  question ;  since  it  is  hard,  indeed, 


134  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

for  the  crack  flying-shooter  to  become  a  great  rifleman. 
In  fact,  excellence  in  the  two  branches  of  the  art  is  so 
rare  as  to  be  thought,  by  many,  incompatible.  Such  is 
not,  however,  the  case.  There  are  some  persons  so  con- 
stituted, that  all  fire-arms  seem  equally  familiar  to  them, 
and  that  what  is  the  fruit  to  others  of  patience  and  prac- 
tice, is  to  them  an  instinct,  as  it  were,  rather  than  an 
acquirement. 

To  learn  to  shoot  from  the  beginning,  then,  with  most 
persons,  is  a  matter  of  time  and  patience ;  and  the  first 
steps,  as  is  the  case  with  almost  every  new  pursuit,  are 
slow,  tedious  and  unamusing. 

"  Before  attempting  to  use  the  loaded  gun,  the  shoot- 
er, whether  young  or  old,  should  always  make  himself 
thoroughly  master  of  it.  Many  of  the  accidents,  which 
so  constantly  occur,  arise  solely  from  a  neglect  of  this 
precaution ;  but  if  the  sportsman  be  early  drilled  into  the 
notion  that  he  has  a  dangerous  yet  useful  weapon  in  his 
hand,  he  will  seldom  forget  the  importance  of  the  precept. 
One  or  two  points  should  be  most  sedulously  impressed, 
the  most  important  one  being  never  to  point  the  gun,  at 
any  time,  by  design  or  otherwise,  at  any  thing,  but  the 
mark  intended  to  be  shot  at.  It  is  astonishing  how  often 
this  is  neglected.  Guns  are  often  pointed  at  females  with 
a  desire  to  frighten  them,  or  at  dogs,  cows,  or  other  objects 
in  mere  wantonness ;  or  again,  whilst  carrying  the  gun,  its 
muzzle  is  held  so  as  to  point  to  every  part  of  the  visible 
horizon.  All  this  is  unsportsmanlike,  unsafe,  and  worse 
than  useless.  With  this  proviso  kept  steadily  in  view, 
even  at  full  cock,  the  gun  is  perfectly  safe  except  from 


HOW   TO   LEABN    TO   SHOOT.  135 

bursting."  The  above  quotation,  as  well  as  several  which 
follow,  is  from  Stonehenge's  "  Manual  of  British  Rural 
Sports,"  and  is  well  worthy  of  attention,  as  are  the  remarks 
ensuing  on  the  first  lesson  of  shooting. 

Previous,  however,  to  using  the  plan  hereafter  indi- 
cated, I  would  recommend  that  the  learner  should  be 
placed  in  position,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  left  foot 
advanced,  the  knee  slightly  bent,  about  eighteen  inches  in 
front  of  the  right,  on  which  the  weight  of  his  body  should 
rest ;  holding  the  gun  at  the  level  of  his  hip,  with  the 
butt  below  his  right  elbow,  his  left  hand  grasping  the  front 
of  the  trigger-guard,  perpendicularly  to  the  barrel,  the 
gun  being  at  half-cock.  The  thumb  of  his  right  hand 
should  be  on  the  striker,  and  the  finger  nail  of  the  fore- 
finger touching  the  inside  of  the  trigger-guard,  before  the 
trigger. 

In  front  of  him  there  should  be  a  whitewashed  wall,  with 
a  black  mark,  the  size  of  half  a  dollar,  at  about  the  level  of 
his  eye.  On  this  mark  he  should  steadily  rivet  his  sight, 
and  raise  the  gun  to  his  shoulder,  cocking  it  with  his  thumb, 
while  in  the  act  of  bringing  it  up,  and  then  lower  his 
cheek  to  the  stock. 

It  will  not  as  yet  be  necessary  to  attempt  to  take  any 
aim  at  the  object,  or  to  rectify  the  first  direction.  The 
lesson  to  be  acquired  is,  first,  to  attain  the  knack  of  cock- 
ing the  gun  quickly,  yet  deliberately,  while  it  is  hi  mo- 
tion from  the  hip  to  the  shoulder ;  and  secondly,  to  gain 
the  habit  of  instinctively  throwing  the  point  toward  the 
object  to  be  aimed  at. 

The  gun  should  not  be  snapped,  or  the  trigger  drawn  ; 


136  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

and  when,  by  a  few  hours'  practice  in  these  motions,  the 
pupil  can  perform  them  readily,  handily  and  surely,  it  is 
wonderful  how  much  is  already  gained. 

Nothing  is  so  much  to  be  guarded  against  as  dwelling 
on  the  sight,  poking  about  to  get  the  aim,  or  keeping  the 
gun  long  to  the  shoulder.  This  facility  acquired,  the  next 
step  is  to  learn  to  bring  with  equal  quickness,  ease  and 
deliberation,  the  lock  back  from  the  full-cock  to  half-cock, 
while  in  the  act  of  lowering  it  from  the  shoulder,  without 
making  any  pause  or  separate  motion.  This  is  done  by 
placing  the  ball  of  the  thumb  on  the  striker,  as  if  in  the 
act  of  cocking  the  piece,  and  holding  it  gently  in  check 
while  the  trigger  is  drawn  with  the  forefinger,  yielding  to 
it,  nevertheless,  and  letting  it  descend  slowly,  until  it 
almost  touches  the  nipple.  Then  by  drawing  it  back  until 
it  ticks,  the  sound  showing  that  the  cock  is  safely  secured. 

When  considerable  facility  has  been  acquired  in  these 
motions,  the  faces  of  the  strikers  may  be  lined  with  a  thick 
piece  of  cork  or  felt,  so  as  to  preserve  the  cones  from  the 
effects  of  the  blow,  and  the  pupil  may  be  directed  to  pull 
his  trigger,  the  moment  the  gun  is  at  his  shoulder  and  his 
cheek  down  to  the  stock,  still  without  attempting  to  take 
or  correct  his  aim,  more  than  he  has  already  done  by  fix- 
ing his  eye  on  the  mark,  without  removing  it  thence,  until 
after  the  trigger  is  pulled.  The  instant  it  is  pulled,  the 
muzzle  must  be  lowered  and  the  butt  withdrawn  from  the 
shoulder. 

This  practice  should  be  persisted  in,  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  careful,  kind,  and  steady  instructor,  half  an 
hour  at  a  time  for  many  days ;  care  being  had,  never  to 


HOW    TO   LEARN   TO   SHOOT.  137 

hurry  or  agitate  the  learner,  either  by  impatience,  or  by 
rebuking  any  clumsiness  or  oversight.  Encouragement  is 
needed,  not  rebuke  ;  and  practice  can  alone  make  perfect. 

It  is,  also,  advisable  not  to  persevere,  at  any  one  time, 
so  long  as  to  weary  the  pupil ;  who  will  soon  begin  to  feel 
proud,  as  he  acquires  handiness,  in  perceiving  his  aptitude 
with  the  piece  and  his  quick  control  of  the  mechanism  ;  and 
will  take  more  and  more  interest  in  the  lessons,  as  he  finds, 
even  at  the  quick  practice  I  have  described,  that  he 
catches  occasionally  sights  of  the  mark  over  his  barrel. 

All  this  should  be  done  invariably  with  both  eyes 
open. 

The  next  lessons  are  merely  for  the  acquisition  of 
steadiness.  They  are  first  to  snap  the  locks,  cocking  and 
uncocking  the  piece,  as  before,  with  caps  only  on  the  gun. 
In  this  case,  a  good  wad  of  well  greased  rag  should  be 
rammed  into  the  breech  of  both  barrels,  and  it  will  be 
better,  also,  to  pour  a  drop  of  oil  into  the  orifice  of  the 
nipples,  as  the  explosion  of  the  percussion  powder  is  most 
detrimental  to  the  gun,  which  should  be  cleaned  at  once, 
when  the  lesson  is  ended. 

This  lesson  should  be  practised,  as  before,  while  pitch- 
ing up  the  gun  at  a  mark,  and  may  be  varied  by  occasion- 
ally, at  uncertain  intervals,  loading  the  gun  with  extremely 
light  charges  of  powder,  the  pupil  not  knowing  when  the 
powder  is  inserted,  and  when  he  shoots  with  the  caps  only. 
This  will  give  him  confidence  and  steadiness,  and  will 
effectually  prevent  him  from  flinching,  unconsciously,  in 
anticipation  of  the  flash  and  report. 

Observe,  that  nothing  is  so  much  to  be  avoided  as  the 


138  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

startling  him,  at  first,  by  a  broad  flash  and  loud  report,  to 
which  he  must  gradually  and  imperceptibly  be  habituated ; 
or,  afterwards,  by  an  overloaded  and  kicking  gun. 

When  this  has  been  all  steadily  gone  through,  for  some 
time,  and  both  quickness  and  fearlessness  have  been  ac- 
quired, I  would  proceed  to  the  lesson  which  Stonehenge 
recommends  as  the  first;  but  even  this  I  would  modify. 

"  Provide  gun-caps,  &c.,"  says  he,  "  in  a  good-sized 
room  at  night,  then  get  a  lighted  tallow  candle,  and  place 
it  at  about  two  yards'  distance  on  an  ordinary  table. 
Raise  the  gun  to  the  shoulder,"  from  this  time  with  the 
left  eye  closed,  and,  still  without  seeking  to  take  deliber- 
ate aim, — Stonehenge  says,  "  with  deliberate  aim — pull  the 
trigger.  If  the  aim  be  good,  and  the  bore  of  the  gun 
about  16,  at  that  distance  the  candle  will  be  extinguished, 
or,  at  least,  its  flame  will  be  visibly  affected."  If  the 
first,  proceed  again  and  again  as  before ;  but  if  not,  and 
if  the  flame  be  but  little  agitated,  the  learner  will  now 
begin  to  rectify  his  aim,  by  sighting  the  lighted  wick  as 
quickly  as  possible,  until  he  finds  himself  able  to  blow  out 
the  flame,  with  moderate  rapidity,  twice  or  thrice  out  of 
five  times. 

The  next  step,  when  this  has  been  mastered,  is  to  fix 
a  black  mark  of  the  size  of  an  ordinary  playing  card,  on 
a  white  wall  or  fence,  at  about  twenty  paces  distance ;  or 
a  white  mark  on  a  black  wall,  and  then  to  practise  at  it, 
as  before,  firing  powder  only,  bringing  the  gun  up  quickly, 
cocking  it  while  raising,  and  bringing  it  down  the  moment 
it  is  discharged ;  still  taking  care  not  to  pause  or  dwell 
upon  the  aim,  but  to  fire  on  the  first  catching  sight,  even 


HOW   TO    LEAKN   TO   SHOOT.  139 

if  the  sight  appear  to  be  an  inch  or  two  wide  of  the  mark, 
at  the  time  of  drawing  the  trigger. 

The  knack  of  bringing  the  sight  up,  and  the  eye  down, 
correctly  to  the  true  level,  will  gradually  be  improved  with 
practice;  and  precision  will  be  obtained  imperceptibly 
and  by  degrees,  far  more  rapidly  than  one  would  expect. 
But  the  habit  of  dwelling  on  the  aim,  and  poking  about 
with  the  muzzle  in  the  hope  of  at  length  fixing  the  sight 
point-blank,  if  once  acquired,  is  so  difficult  to  be  shaken 
off  that  I  may  almost  say  it  is  impossible.  After  a  while, 
still  loading  with  an  exceeding  light  charge  of  powder,  it 
will  be  advisable  occasionally,  and  when  the  shooter  does 
not  expect  it,  to  put  in  about  half  an  oz.  of  small  shot, 
and  let  him,  as  before,  fire  at  the  mark  on  first  sight. 

If  he  be  aware  that  the  gun  is  loaded,  he  will  be  ner- 
vous with  endeavor  to  aim  more  steadily ;  and  without 
doing  so  a  whit,  will  do  so  far  more  slowly.  Not  knowing 
when  to  expect  shot,  and  when  mere  blank  cartridge,  he 
will  blaze  away  just  as  unconcernedly  as  ever,  and  speed- 
ily finding  that  he  comes,  as  he  very  shortly  will,  to  plant 
his  shot  in  and  all  round  his  mark,  firing  as  soon  as  the 
heel-plate  is  at  his  shoulder,  he  will  quickly  acquire  perfect 
confidence  in  himself,  and  that  unconscious  equanimity, 
which  is  the  cause,  as  it  is  the  invariable  consequence  or 
accompaniment  of  being  a  good  shot. 

After  this  habit  is  well  acquired,  and  the  sitting  or 
stationary  mark  can  be  hit  almost  to  a  certainty,  it  is  won- 
derful how  nearly  the  pupil  has  arrived  to  being  a  good 
flying  shot,  even  before  he  has  attempted  to  shoot  on  the 
wing. 


140  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Let  him  now  commence  at  small,  short-winged  birds, 
as  they  rise  slowly  from  the  grass,  or  flit  across  open 
spaces  from  tree  to  tree,  still  keeping  his  eyes  riveted  on 
the  object  while  bringing  up  his  piece,  and  firing  instantly. 

If  the  former  lessons  have  been  perfectly  acquired, 
and  he  be  nearly  sure  of  striking  his  stationary  mark  at 
snap  shots,  he  is  certain  ultimately  of  becoming  a  quick 
and  sure  shot  on  the  wing,  and  he  will  not  fail  to  bring 
down  his  object,  now  and  then,  even  from  the  first. 

Practice  and  coolness  will  do  all  the  rest ;  and  it  is 
necessary  now  to  guard  against  one  malpractice  only — 
never  to  take  down  the  gun  from  the  shoulder,  when  it 
once  has  been  levelled,  without  firing,  from  the  idea  that 
it  is  not  correctly  aimed,  and  from  the  fear  of  missing,  is 
a  positive  and  invariable  rule. 

To  do  so,  is  to  become  undecided,  unsteady,  and  to  fal- 
ter more  and  more,  until  he  have  lost  all  nerve  and  ability 
to  judge  how  the  aim  is  taken,  or  what  he  is  about  at  all. 

To  shoot  at  all  risks,  with  deliberate  rashness  or  reck- 
lessness, if  I  may  so  express  myself,  is  the  only  true 
maxim.  If  the  shot  tell — well  and  good.  All  is  done 
that  is  desired,  and  the  chance  of  doing  so  is  doubled  by 
the  careless  confidence  with  which  it  is  done. 

If  the  aim  be  falsely  taken,  the  distance,  speed  or  mo- 
tion of  the  object  miscalculated,  if  cool,  the  shooter  will 
easily  come  to  judge  where  the  error  lay,  and  to  see  at 
once  why  he  missed ;  whether  he  over  or  under-shot, 
whether  he  fired  before  or  behind,  to  right  or  to  left  of 
his  object ;  and  this  point  once  gained,  wonderfully  easily 
will  he  correct  the  errors  and  improve. 


HOW   TO    LEAKN   TO   SHOOT.  141 

After  this,  almost  every  tiling  is  acquired  that  is 
needed.  Constant  practice,  and  careful  attention  and 
observation,  must  make  every  one,  who  has  got  thus  far, 
one  day  or  other  a  good  shot. 

He  must  know  from  his  teacher,  and  learn  from  his 
own  observation,  that  in  order  to  hit  objects  rapidly  cross- 
ing him,  going  from  him,  or  coming  toward  him,  he  must 
shoot  in  advance  of  them  in  order  to  hit — above  them,  if 
they  be  ascending,  below  them,  if  they  be  falling. 

The  allowance  to  be  made  will  vary  in  proportion  to 
the  distance  of  the  object  from  the  shooter,  and  the  veloc- 
ity at  which  it  is  travelling,  when  he  fires.  For  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  shot,  which  is  propelled  from  his 
barrel  the  fraction  of  a  second  after  he  pulls  the  trigger, 
has  to  travel  a  considerable  distance,  from  twenty  to  fifty 
yards  or  upward,  before  it  can  reach  the  object,  which, 
unless  it  be  progressing  before  it  in  a  direct  line,  will  have 
changed  its  position,  and  will  be  some  inches  more  or  less 
in  advance  of  the  place  at  which  it  seemed  to  be  station- 
ary, when  the  sight  was  taken. 

What  this  change  may  be,  is  uncertain ;  for  calculat- 
ing it,  no  rule  can  be  given.  According  to  the  velocity  of 
the  object,  the  force  and  direction  of  the  wind,  and  twenty 
other  chance  circumstances,  it  will  vary,  so  that  hardly  in 
two  instances  will  the  variation  coincide.  Yet  habit, 
practice,  and  deliberate  observation  will  so  far  conquer  all 
difficulties,  that  a  crack  shot,  with  a  bird,  or  birds  cross- 
ing him  at  any  distance  from  fifteen  to  fifty  paces,  with 
or  against  a  positive  gale,  will  instinctively  and  without  a 
pause  calculate  the  allowance  to  be  made,  pitch  up  his 


142  MANTTAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMKN. 

piece  and  cut  down  the  objects,  one  after  the  other,  as  if 
they  were  hanging  motionless  in  a  dead  calm. 

The  best  practice  for  this  purpose,  not  merely  for  the 
novice,  but  for  the  old  hand  who  by  any  accidental  cir- 
cumstances has  got  out  of  use,  and  one  which  cannot  fail  to 
produce  its  effect,  is  to  shoot  at  large-sized  turnips  pitched 
into  the  air  with  the  utmost  force  and  vigor  of  a  power- 
ful arm,  in  all  possible  directions,  diagonally,  across,  and 
toward,  or  away  from,  the  shooter,  by  a  clever  and  practised 
assistant. 

With  a  tyro,  the  lesson  should  commence  by  tossing 
the  turnip  directly  before  him,  slowly  upward ;  and  as  he 
improves  and  attains  certainty  in  hitting  it,  increasing  its 
velocity  and  altering  its  direction. 

The  learner,  after  a  few  trials,  should  avoid  shooting  at 
the  turnip  when  at  its  maximum  elevation,  for  while  in  that 
position,  it  hangs  for  a  moment  in  the  air  virtually  motion- 
less, and  then  presents  a  stationary  shot.  He  should, 
therefore,  as  soon  as  he  is  tolerably  sure  of  it,  when  at  its 
height,  begin  firing  as  it  rises  or  descends,  by  which 
means  he  will  easily  learn  what  allowance  is  to  be  made 
for  speed  and  distance.  When  he  is  master  of  this,  let  it 
be  first  tossed,  then  hurled,  as  I  have  said  above,  diagon- 
ally across  him,  away  from,  or  toward  him ;  and  by  the 
same  degrees,  imperceptibly  he  will  come  to  such  skill, 
that  he  will  never,  or  scarcely  ever,  miss  it.  So  soon  as 
he  can  accomplish  this  (and  I  have  seen  scores  of  boys 
who  have  done  so,  and  could  do  so  in  a  great  measure 
myself,  before  I  had  ever  thought  in  my  most  sanguine 
dreams  of  firing  at  game),  he  ""an — my  word  upon  it — kill 


HOW  TO  LEARN  TO  SHOOT.          143 

any  bird  that  flies  under  any  circumstances,  except  it  be 
in  very  dense  covert,  which  requires  practice  arranged 
in  the  same  manner,  among  bushes  and  shrubbery  of 
greater  or  less  intricacy. 

By  causing  the  assistant  instead  of  throwing  the  turnip 
into  the  air,  to  bowl  it  along  the  surface  of  the  ground,  in 
all  different  angles  and  directions,  up  hill,  down  hill,  over 
the  level,  across  knobby,  hillocky  ground,  which  will  cause 
it  to  bounce  and  bound  into  the  air,  between  large  trees  or 
among  brushwood,  the  pupil  will  learn  to  hit  it  thus  as 
easily  as  when  in  the  air,  and  will  then  be  as  certain  on 
running  as  on  flying  game. 

Beyond  this,  in  the  art  of  shooting,  there  is  nothing  to 
be  learned  beyond  coolness,  steadiness,  the  immovable 
nerve,  the  self-possession  which  nothing  can  disturb,  the 
inventive  and  instinctive  resource,  which  can  always 
devise  a  mode  of  action  to  meet  any  emergency;  which 
comes,  and  can  come,  only  from  long  use,  and  that  habitua- 
tion  which  becomes,  in  time,  a  second  nature. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  any  youth  who  has  good 
eyes,  quick  faculties,  who  is  apt  with  his  hands,  not  having, 
as  the  ordinary  saying  is,  all  his  fingers  thumbs ;  who 
observes,  thinks,  and  can  control  his  nerves  in  a  reasonable 
degree,  can — if  he  will  consent  to  be  patient,  to  practise 
precisely  according  to  the  rules  which  I  have  prescribed, 
not  trying  to  jump  to  conclusions  before  he  has  taken  in 
the  rudiments — and  will  become  more  than  an  ordinarily 
good  shot. 

That,  if  he  be  neither  irrecoverably  nervous  and  rash, 
nor  irretrievably  slow  and  timid,  if  he  have  ordinarily 


144  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

quick  eyesight,  quick  wits,  and  quick  hands,  he  must  be, 
if  he  obey  orders,  beyond  the  possibility  of  failure. 

If  he  be  unusually  stout  of  nerve,  cool  of  temper, 
rapid  of  sight,  sure  of  observation,  and  apt  of  hand,  he 
will  probably  become  as  successful  as  a  marksman  and  a 
shot,  as  he  would  at  any  thing  else  to  which  he  should 
turn  his  superior  faculties. 

If,  however,  he  be  purblind,  a  blinker,  clumsy  and 
helpless  with  his  hands,  dull-witted,  weak-nerved,  timid 
and  a  dolt;  I  should  strongly  urge  it  on  him  and  his 
friends,  that  he  should  let  the  gun  alone,  for  he  is  never 
like  to  do  much  with  it,  unless  it  be  to  shoot  his  friend, 
his  sweetheart,  or  himself — none  of  which  are  the  legiti- 
mate, though  I  am  sorry  to  say  they  are  but  too  frequently 
the  casual,  ends  of  amateur  gunnery. 

For  learning  to  shoot  with  the  rifle,  a  mode  of  prac- 
tice must  be  adopted  almost  diametrically  opposite  to 
that  prescribed  above. 

The  charge  of  a  shot  gun,  expanding  in  width  in  pro- 
portion as  it  increases  its  distance  from  the  muzzle  of  the 
piece  when  it  is  charged,  will  cover,  at  forty  paces  from  a 
strong,  well-shooting  gun,  a  circle  of  a  yard  in  diameter, 
with  its  pellets  so  regularly  distributed,  that  any  *  bird 
found  within  that  circle  must  receive  two  or  three  missiles, 
and  sent  so  strongly  that  any  one  of  these  must  break  a 
pinion  bone.  At  sixty  paces  the  circumference  of  the  shot 
will  be  greatly  enlarged  and  the  force  nearly  as  greatly 
diminished  ;  still  a  good  gun  ought  to  kill  a  bird  to  a  cer- 
tainty in  the  centre  of  the  circle,  and  generally  any  where 
within  it. 


HOW    TO    LEARN    1X3    SHOOT.  145 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  with  a  shot  gun  at  medium 
distances,  the  aim  need  not  be  taken  with  exact  precision 
on  the  object.  It  must  be  a  considerable  divergence  of 
the  line  of  aim  from  the  line  of  flight  of  an  animal  going 
directly  from  the  shooter,  probably  an  inch  or  so  at  the 
muzzle,  which  should  produce  a  clear  miss  at  forty  yards. 
In  some  cases,  when  the  animal  shot  at  is  close  at  hand,  it 
is  necessary  to  shoot  wide  of  it,  in  order  to  prevent  its 
being  shattered  to  pieces  by  the  shot ;  which,  for  a  few 
yards,  goes  together  in  a  compact  mass. 

I  remember  once  striking  a  woodcock  going  directly 
before  me  so  squarely  with  the  whole  body  of  the  charge, 
at  some  ten  or  twelve  yards  from  the  muzzle,  that  all  we 
ever  found  of  it  was  the  extremities  of  the  two  wings 
below  the  pinion  joints. 

The  result  was,  of  course,  unintentional,  but  the  shot, 
for  a  shot  gun,  was  a  bad  one — for  a  rifle  it  would  have 
been  perfection,  as  the  ball  would  have  struck  the  bird 
centrally  at  whatever  reasonable  distance. 

The  farther  distant  the  object  is  from  the  shot  gun, 
the  more  is  close-aiming  needed,  since  at  long  distances  it 
is  only  in  the  centre  of  the  circle  of  their  distribution, 
that  the  pellets  of  shot  fly  close  enough  to  hit,  or  strong 
enough  to  pierce  and  bring  down  the  game. 

With  a  rifle  the  operation  is  wholly  different.  The 
missile  is  a  single  one,  of  inconsiderable  size,  and  has  no 
divergence  whatever  to  right  or  left  of  its  flight,  if  the 
barrel  be  itself  true,  and  truly  sighted.  It  is  of  course 
liable  to  fall  lower  than  a  direct  horizontal  line  from  the 
muzzle,  since  all  projectiles  descend  in  a  parabola,  and 
7 


146  MANUAL   FOR   YOFNG    SPORTSMEN. 

that  liability  we  guard  against  by  elevated  sights.  What 
is  called  a  point-blank  shot,  for  there  really  exists  no  such 
thing,  is  merely  a  shot  which  we  fire  from  the  ordinary 
elevation  of  our  piece,  without  extra  allowance  made,  at 
the  centre  of  the  mark. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  in  aiming  with  a  rifle,  abso- 
lute precision  of  aim  is  positively  requisite.  There  is  no 
space  for  chance  or  good  fortune  even  in  a  minimum 
degree.  The  ball  must  be  sped  exactly  to  the  identical 
spot  which  it  must  hit,  and  the  divergence  of  a  hair's 
breadth  at  the  muzzle  will  grow  into  inches  or  even  feet 
as  the  range  increases. 

Therefore  the  aim  must  be  taken  with  the  utmost 
deliberation  and  certainty,  and  must  be  maintained  per- 
fect, which  can  only  be  done  by  great  steadiness  of  nerve, 
perfect  coolness  of  temper,  and  sufficient  muscular  power, 
until  not  merely  the  trigger  is  drawn,  but  the  ball  is  dis- 
missed from  the  barrel. 

I  am  satisfied  that  in  rifle-shooting,  the  more  misses 
by  far  occur  in  consequence  of  the  shooter  disturbing  a 
correct  aim,  and  diverting  his  barrel  never  so  little  from 
the  true  line,  by  the  act  of  pulling  the  trigger,  or  by 
flinching  from  the  flash  or  report,  than  of  his  taking  aYalse 
direction  in  the  first  instance. 

If,  therefore,  nerve  be  valuable  to  any  shooter,  to  the 
rifleman  it  is  indispensable.  The  slightest  tremor,  even 
the  motion  communicated  by  the  act  of  breathing  labori- 
ously to  the  muscles  of  the  arm  and  shoulder,  is  sufficient 
to  disturb  the  truest  aim  and  spoil  the  finest  shot. 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  for  one  half  at  least,  if  not 


HOW    TO   LEAEN    TO    SHOOT.  147 

more  of  mankind,  to  become  even  fair  rifle  shots,  with  any 
possible  amount  of  practice,  but  to  all  men,  who  have  good 
eyes,  iron  nerves,  sufficient  physical  strength  and  phleg- 
matic tempers,  it  is  a  certainty,  beyond  calculation,  that 
they  can  become  first-rate  rifle  shots  with  sufficient  prac- 
tice. 

It  is  far  easier  to  become  a  tolerable  shot  even  on  the 
wing  with  a  shot  gun,  than  a  passable  marksman  with  the 
rifle.  But  of  those  who  shoot  at  all  with  the  rifle,  there 
are  a  hundred  splendid  marksmen,  where  of  those  who  affect 
to  use  the  shot  gun  there  is  one  really  crack  shot. 

In  learning  to  shoot  with  the  rifle,  therefore,  the  first 
requisite  is  to  see  the  end  sight  through  the  orifice  of  the 
back  sight  exactly  on  the  mark — the  second,  to  keep  it 
there  steadily  for  a  length  of  time,  a  second  or  two  at 
least — the  third,  to  pull  the  trigger  exactly  when  the 
sights  are  most  centrically  and  steadily  on  the  mark,  and 
never  to  pull  it  otherwise — the  fourth,  to  pull  the  trigger 
and  endure  the  little  shock  of  the  discharge,  without 
the  smallest  jerk,  start,  or  trepidation. 

To  teach  how  this  is  to  be  done  is  impracticable, 
beyond  saying  that  it  is  to  be  done.  Practice  and  cool- 
ness can  alone  effect  the  ability  to  do  it,  even  with  those 
constituted  by  temper,  physical  and  moral,  to  obtain  the 
power.  One  thing  may  be  premised,  that  it  is  well,  if  not 
actually  necessary,  to  hold  the  breath  from  the  moment  the 
sight  is  taken  until  the  ball  is  fairly  discharged. 

One  eye  must,  of  course,  be  closed  in  rifle  shooting  ; 
but,  as  I  have  said  before  concerning  the  shot  gun,  the 
other  eye  should  be  riveted  on  the  mark  before  the  rifle  is 


148  MANUAL   FOR   VOTING   SPORTSMEN. 

brought  to  the  shoulder,  and  while  it  is  rising,  by  which 
means  it  will  find  the  sights  in  opposition  the  most  easily, 
and  often  almost  without  an  effort.  Though  it  is  neces- 
sary to  get  a  sure  aim  before  firing,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  dwell  on  it  before  doing  so.  Every  second  between  the 
having  taken  true  sight  and  the  giving  fire  is  a  second  lost, 
Or  worse  than  lost ;  for  the  longer  the  rifle  is  held  to  the 
face  the  greater  the  tension  of  the  muscles  and  the  nerves, 
and  the  likelier  are  both  to  shake  and  give  way.  The 
first  true  sight  is  always,  with  all  fire-arms,  the  best  sight, 
and  a  quick  shot  has  as  much,  or  more,  the  advantage  over 
a  slow  shot,  with  the  rifle  as  with  any  other  weapon. 

It  is  perfectly  easy  to  be  at  the  same  time  a  quick  and 
a  deliberate  shot  with  a  rifle,  just  as  it  is  with  any  other 
weapon,  and  the  union  is  of  course  invaluable. 

In  learning  to  shoot  with  the  rifle,  therefore,  celerity 
of  taking  aim  and  the  habit  of  giving  fire  instantane- 
ously when  the  aim  is  taken,  are  the  points  to  be  prac- 
tised most  diligently — the  latter  more  especially,  since  on 
the  simultaneous  action  of  eye  and  finger  every  thing 
depends. 

I  particularly  advise  and  caution  beginners  against  the 
habit  of  firing  the  rifle  from  a  rest,  and  I  advise  them  as 
early  as  possible  to  practise  at  objects  in  motion.  A  per- 
son may  have  acquired  perfect  precision  and  certainty  in 
shooting  with  rests  and  telescope  sights  at  the  smallest 
objects,  and  at  long  ranges,  and  yet  may  be  totally  inca- 
pable of  taking  a  steady  aim,  where  he  can  obtain  no 
extraneous  support,  even  at  a  large  mark. 

In  field  shooting  at  game,  it  is  not  once  in  fifty  times 


HOW   TO   LEARN   TO   SHOOT. 

that  it  is  practicable  to  shoot  with  a  rest,  other  than  such 
as  may  be  obtained  from  his  own  person  by  the  shooter. 
And  as  target-shooting  is  only  the  practice  by  which  he 
proposes  to  fit  himself  for  the  end,  not  the  end  itself,  it  is 
as  such  that  the  shooter  is  to  regard  it. 

In  the  Middle  States,  where  there  is  but  little  game  to 
be  shot  with  the  rifle,  the  rifle-clubs  are,  in  my  opinion, 
taking  a  wrong  direction,  as  both  the  style  and  character 
of  their  weapons,  and  the  manner  of  their  shooting,  are 
utterly  unsuited  either  for  the  chase  or  the  field.  Their 
best  and  most  lauded  marksmen  would,  from  what  I  have 
seen,  read,  and  heard  of  their  performance,  make  very  poor 
work  in  field  or  forest-shooting  with  "  the  deer  before  the 
hounds." 

Again,  it  is  highly  advisable  to  practise  at  long  ranges, 
at  least  two  and  three  hundred  yards,  for  on  the  prairies, 
where  now  only  game  exists  of  the  species  to  be  followed 
with  the  rifle,  in  sufficient  numbers  to  render  the  sport  of 
great  moment,  a  majority  of  the  shots  fired  will  lie  within 
those  distances. 

In  speaking  of  the  necessity  of  taking  a  direct  and 
exact  aim  at  one  small  point,  when  shooting  with  single 
ball,  I  do  not,  of  course,  mean  to  say  that  the  small  point 
to  be  aimed  at  is  always  identical  with  the  small  spot  to  be 
hit,  and  that  no  allowance  is  to  be  made  for  velocity  of 
motion  or  distance  of  the  object. 

Far  from  it.  Allowance  must  be  made  when  an  animal 
is  crossing  at  speed,  even  greater  with  the  rifle  than  with 
shot  gun,  unless  the  shooter  have  the  knack — which,  if  he 
have  it,  is  perhaps  the  best — of  keeping  his  hand  and  muzzle 


150  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

continually  moving,  so  as  to  have  his  aim  continually  cov- 
ered, even  after  the  trigger  is  drawn  and  the  shot  fired. 
Where  the  motion  of  the  animal  shot  at  is  steady,  such  is 
the  better  plan,  but  where  it  bounds,  or  rises  and  falls  in 
sweeps  and  curves^  an  absolute  allowance  in  advance  will 
perhaps  on  the  whole  succeed  better. 

If  a  ball  be  aimed  directly  behind  the  bend  of  the 
shoulder  in  a  deer — which  is  the  proper  place  where  to 
strike  the  heart — taking  the  animal  to  be  crossing  the 
shooter  at  75  or  100  yards,  the  deer  will  have  moved  so 
far,  while  the  shot  is  discharging  and  the  bullet  travers- 
ing the  space,  that  the  latter  will  take  effect  far  back  in 
the  ribs,  and  therefore  fail  to  inflict  a  deadly  wound.  In 
such  a  shot,  therefore,  the  aim  should  be  taken  at  the  for- 
ward point  of  the  shoulder,  or  the  edge  of  the  chest  in 
advance  of  it,  and  that  aim  will  probably  plant  the  missile 
in  the  exact  spot  desired. 

At  a  longer  range,  yet  a  greater  allowance  must  be 
made  in  advance ;  but  to  do  this  the  shooter  must  calculate 
exactly  how  much  he  means  to  give,  and  then  aim  directly 
on  a  spot  at  the  level  he  wishes  to  cover,  precisely  so  far 
in  advance  of  his  mark. 

The  better  way,  I  think,  of  doing  this  is,  first  to  coVer 
the  exact  spot  which  it  is  desirable  to  strike,  and  then, 
carefully  keeping  the  sights  in  line,  to  sweep  the  muzzle 
forward  six  inches,  a  foot,  or  more,  as  it  may  be  judged 
necessary.  At  a  deer  crossing  at  speed  at  two  hundred 
yards'  distance,  an  allowance  of  one  yard  in  advance  of 
the  point  of  the  chest,  and  above  or  below  it  accordingly 


HOW    TO    LKAEN   TO    SHOOT.  151 

as  the  animal  is  ascending,  descending,  or  running  on  the 
level,  will  not  be  an  inch  too  much. 

On  level  ground  it  is  well  to  shoot  a  little  low  of  the 
object,  as  it  is  better  to  take  the  deer  on  alighting  from  his 
bounds,  especially  if  he  be  in  bushy  covert  or  underwood. 

All  allowances  of  distance,  as  also  for  the  force  of  a 
cross  wind,  however,  are  matters  of  judgment  and  calcula- 
tion, as  are  the  ranges  at  which  the  shooter  is  actually 
firing  ;  and  practice  is  the  only  true  way  to  obtain  correct- 
ness of  judgment,  and  of  eye-calculation. 

It  must  always  be  remembered,  however,  that  every 
one  who  has  acquired  the  skill  to  shoot  off-hand,  necessa- 
rily possesses  that  which  enables  him  to  shoot  with  a  rest ; 
and  that  he  who  can  surely  strike  an  object  in  motion  can 
strike  one  at  rest  with  tenfold  certainty. 

To  conclude,  I  advise  no  person  who  desires  to  become 
a  proficient  with  both  weapons,  by  any  means  to  touch  the 
rifle  until  he  has  made  himself  a  perfect  master  of  shoot- 
ing on  the  wing  ;  and  then  never  to  practise  with  single 
ball  at  a  mark  for  any  length  of  time,  without  diversifying 
his  practice  by  shooting  at  turnips,  bowled  or  tossed,  as 
described  before. 

If  he  do,  he  will  lose  one  skill,  as  he  acquires  the 
other,  even  though  he  may  be  an  old  craftsman  and  a  cap- 
ital shot. 

The  habit  of  waiting  and  following  for  an  exact  aim, 
with  the  sights  in  line,  will  stick  to  him,  and  incline  him 
to  dwell  and  follow  his  birds  on  the  wing,  in  a  manner 
which,  as  it  has  been  shown,  is  destructive  to  quickness, 
style  and  handsomeness  of  killing. 


152  MANUAL    FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

No  one,  however  good  a  shot,  has  ever  returned,  after 
a  campaign  with  the  rifle  against  deer,  or  what  you  will, 
to  the  snipe-meadow,  without  finding  that  he  requires  some 
days'  practice  before  he  can  cut  down  the  long  bill  so  soon 
as  he  tops  the  rushes,  with  the  precision  and  instinctive 
swiftness  he  had  before  he  visited  the  prairie  or  the  forest. 

For  the  person  who  desires,  above  all  things,  to  be  a 
first-rate  performer  with  the  shot  gun  on  the  wing,  who  is 
so,  and  who  only  cares  about  rifle-shooting  as  a  superfluous 
accomplishment,  for  which  he  expects  to  find  little  occa- 
sion and  less  exercise  on  its  legitimate  game  in  the  field, 
I  advise  that  the  rifle  be  let  alone  in  toto.  So  nearly  do 
I  hold  the  two  accomplishments  incompatible  in  their 
perfection. 

I  do  not  mean  that  a  first-rate  flying  shot  may  not 
shoot  enough  with  the  rifle  not  to  be  a  complete  bungler,  not 
to  miss  a  deer  or  a  man  standing  at  a  hundred  yards ;  but 
I  do  mean  that  if  he  be  ambitious,  and  once  get  so  far  with 
his  rifle,  he  will  be  apt  to  proceed,  until  he  succeeds  to 
the  utmost,  and  then — good-bye  !  to  his  lightning-like  dash 
and  swiftness  on  the  wing. 

The  same  is,  more  or  less,  the  case,  vice  versa  ;  but  as 
it  is,  I  believe,  quite  impossible  that  a  person,  who  'has 
become  by  years  of  patient  practice  a  perfect  and  uner- 
ring rifle  shot,  without  any  early  knowledge  of  the  shot 
gun — as  is  the  case  with  hundreds  on  hundreds  of  foresters 
and  woodmen  in  the  West  and  East — can  ever,  by  any 
amount  of  practice,  at  a  late  day  in  life,  become  a  crack 
shot  on  the  wing,  so  will  the  attempted  practice  of  it 
interfere  the  less  with  his.  old  acquired  habits. 


HOW    TO    LEAKN    TO    SHOOT. 


153 


If  there  be  two  things  on  earth,  which,  to  be  done 
tvell,  must  be  done  young,  they  are  to  shoot  on  the  wing, 
and  to  ride  across-country.  They  cannot  be  learned  old, 
more  than  it  can  "  to  speak  the  truth." 


THE    DOG. 


AFTER  the  gun  or  rifle,  the  great  essential,  as  to  the 
mere  killing  of  game,  is  his  dog  to  the  sportsman ;  but 
when  we  regard  him  as  the  living,  the  intelligent,  the 
more  than  half-reasoning  companion,  the  docile,  obedient, 
enduring,  uncomplaining  servant,  the  faithful,  grateful, 
submissive,  affectionate  friend,  and  not  unseldom  the  last 
mourner  of  the  dead  master,  unmourned  by  all  beside, 
"  when  men  have  shrunk  from  the  ignoble  task  of  watch- 
ing him  who  led  them  ; "  we  must  think  of  him  as  some- 
thing widely  different  from  the  tool  of  wood  and  iron 
which  we  fashion,  how  perfectly  soever,  merely  to  be  the 
senseless  and  unconscious  instrument  of  our  skill. 

The  wonderful    tractableness    of    the    dog,   his   facil- 


THE   DOG.  155 

ity  of  acquiring  and  power  of  retaining  what  is  taught 
him,  the  delight  which  he  evidently  takes  in  performing 
his  duties  well,  his  sensibility  to  applause  or  censure, 
entirely  apart  from  reward  or  punishment,  his  singular 
semi-human  comprehension  of  our  words  and  meanings, 
his  gratitude  for  kindness,  his  patience  of  injustice  and 
cruelty,  his  wonderful  instinctive  powers,  and  yet  more 
wonderful  gropings  and  strugglings  in  the  dark — so  easily 
perceived  by  those  who  are  observant  of  his  character  and 
actions — after  something  clearer  and  more  spiritual  than 
mere  instinct,  entitle  him  to  be  regarded  and  treated  by 
his  master,  as  something  far  beyond  the  mere  brute  ;  and 
so  to  treat  him  will  full  well  repay  the  master  both  in  sat- 
isfaction and  in  service. 

It  used  to  be  held  a  maxim,  in  my  youth,  that  the  dog 
of  chase  should  be  retained  as  much  as  possible  a  mere 
brute — that  to  cultivate  his  intelligence,  nurture  hia 
affections,  accustom  him  to  understand  your  wishes  and 
share  your  pleasures,  was  to  unfit  him  for  field  service; 
and  that,  when  a  dog  came  to  love  his  master,  the  only 
thing  was  to  hang  him. 

Happily,  like  many  other  brutal  and  barbarous  errors 
of  our  immediate  ancestors  of  the  eighteenth  century,  who 
always  appear  to  me  to  have  taken  a  retrograde  step 
in  true  civilization  and  refinement,  and  to  have  been  the 
rudest  and  most  boorish  of  mankind,  these  maxims  con- 
corning  dog  management  are  all  found  to  be  based  on 
error,  and  have  all  consequently  fallen  into  disrepute  and 
disuse.  With  the  exception  of  the  admitted  fact  that  a 
house  dog  can  rarely  be  kept  a  first-rate  field-dog,  how- 


156  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

ever  excellent  he  may  originally  have  been,  it  is  admitted 
by  all  that  the  more  familiar  your  dog  is  with  your  ways 
and  habits,  the  better  he  understands  your  words  and 
signs,  the  more  intuitively  he  anticipates  your  thoughts — 
in  a  word,  the  less  he  fears  and  the  more  he  loves  you — 
the  better  he  will  serve  you. 

The  exception,  in  regard  to  housekeeping,  is  merely 
physical,  not  mental.  The  house-dog,  being  present  at  all 
times,  is  unduly  pampered,  is  fed  with  improper  food  and 
at  improper  times.  He  lives  too  high,  sleeps  too  soft  and 
too  warm  ;  becomes  fat  and  lazy,  loses  his  health,  his  vigor, 
his  spirits,  and,  above  all,  his  nose — which,  beyond  all 
things,  depends  on  his  health  and  general  well-being. 

For  the  dog,  as  for  the  man,  plenty  of  hearty,  whole- 
some, unstimulating  food ;  abundance  of  washing,  a  con- 
stant supply  of  fresh  air,  and  no  stint  of  exercise  in  sea- 
son, are  the  grand  requisites  for  being  in  perfect  health 
and  perfect  condition. 

These  conditions  complied  with,  it  may  be  taken  for 
granted  that  the  more  either  dog  or  man  is  under  the  in- 
fluence of,  and  in  constant  communication  with,  intellects 
superior  to  his  own,  the  more  will  his  own  intellect  expand, 
and  his  own  powers  of  acquisition  increase. 

It  is  marvellous  to  those  who  have  not  observed  it, 
how  perfect  will  come  to  be  the  mutual  understanding 
between  a  dog  and  his  master,  when  the  master  has  the 
faculty  and  inclination  to  teach  his  servant,  and  to  talk  to 
him,  as  friend  to  friend,  and  when  the  servant  is  aware 
that  he  must  obey  his  master,  and  that  resistance  is  use- 


THE    DOG.  157 

less  and  brings  punishment,  yet,  knowing  this,  obeys  from 
love  not  from  fear. 

Happily,  cruelty  toward  animals,  which  in  the  last 
century  was  common  even  among  men  of  high  station  in 
the  world,  is  now  limited  to  the  rude,  the  brutal  and  un- 
educated, and  rare  even  among  them,  because  they  are 
aware  of  the  disgust  it  awakens  in  their  superiors. 

Nowadays,  a  gentleman,  known  to  be  habitually  guilty 
of  cruelty  to  his  dogs  or  horses,  could  scarcely  more  retain 
his  repute  and  standing,  than  if  he  were  convicted  in  the 
public  mind  of  ill-treatment  of  his  wife  or  children. 

Consequently,  cruelty  is  no  longer,  as  it  once  was,  part 
and  parcel  of  the  system  of  sportsmanship,  so  far  at  least 
as  dog  and  horsebreaking  and  management  are  concerned. 

It  has  been  proved,  moreover,  that  cruel  breaking  is 
not  only  inhuman  and  brutal,  but  unwise,  injudicious, 
and  ineffective.  Severity  is  necessary  sometimes,  in  the 
beginning,  with  dogs,  as  it  is  with  children.  Both  must 
be  compelled  to  obey ;  and  the  greater  the  obduracy  of 
child  or  dog,  the  greater  must  be  the  mildness,  the  temper, 
the  steadiness  and  the  firmness  of  the  teacher. 

It  must  be  remembered,  that  it  is  not  the  severity  of 
the  pain,  but  the  invariableness  of  its  attendance  on  the 
recurrence  of  given  offences,  that  impresses  the  conviction 
on  the  memory,  that  the  pain  is  the  consequence  of  the 
fault. 

When  that  conviction  is  gained,  future  offences  arise 
from  forgetfulness,  rashness,  wantonness,  rarely  from  stub- 
bornness. In  no  case  should  they  avoid  punishment,  but, 
in  the  first  instance,  a  slight  flogging  with  a  great  deal  of 


158  MANtTAL    FOB    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

talk,  remonstrance  and  scolding,  has  much  more  effect 
than  a  savage,  passionate  beating. 

When  obdurate  stubbornness  is  evinced  and  persisted 
in,  chastisement  proportionate  must  follow,  until  victory 
remains  with  the  authority  and  the  right.  But,  where  a 
dog  is  so  incorrigibly  obstinate  and  vicious  a  brute — for 
vicious  and  wicked  dogs  do  occur,  just  as  much,  though 
not  nearly  so  often,  as  vicious  and  wicked  men,  and  both 
are  equally  conscious  of  their  own  wickedness  and  vice — 
it  is  by  far  better  to  get  rid  of  him  at  once,  than  for  one 
to  sour  his  own  temper,  harden  his  own  heart,  disturb  his 
friends'  nerves  and  equanimity,  and  torture  the  worthless 
cur  by  incessant  fustigation,  in  the  hope  of  bringing  him 
into  subjection. 

To  my  mind,  no  excellence  of  nose,  of  ranging  quali- 
ties, of  speed,  endurance,  or  stanchness,  can  compensate 
for  such  inherent  defects  of  temper  in  the  animal,  as  re- 
quire continual  chastisement. 

It  is  as  easy  to  ascertain  whether  a  dog  is  docile,  reason- 
ably mindful  and  good-tempered,  as  whether  he  has  a  good 
nose,  sufficient  speed,  and  enough  intellect  to  be  worth 
breaking.  If  he  have  not  the  former  qualities ,  I  would 
reject  him  as  quickly  as  for  the  lack  of  the  latter. 

But  it  may  be  set  down  for  certain,  that  not  one 
highly-bred  and  highly-spirited  dog  in  a  hundred  but  cau 
be  broke,  thoroughly  and  to  perfection,  by  steady,  firm 
and  temperate  management,  without,  I  will  not  say,  pun- 
ishment or  occasional  severity,  but  any  thing  in  the  least 
degree  approaching  to  cruelty. 

When  a  dog  is  once  thoroughly  broke,  it  is  his  master's 


THE   DOG.  159 

fault,  and — be  it  added — his  master's  disgrace,  if  he  ever 
lose  his  teachings,  or  if  he  ever  require  severe  or  cruel 
punishment  to  maintain  it. 

Nine  dogs  are  cowed,  ruined  and  rendered  irretriev- 
ably worthless,  by  cruel  flogging  for  small  causes,  or  for 
no  cause  at  all,  where  one  is  spoiled  for  want  of  it ;  and, 
even  in  early  breaking,  the  constant  resort  to  the  whip 
must  be  regarded  as  a  proof  that  the  breaker  is  incompe- 
tent to  his  business  by  milder  and  more  legitimate  means. 

Still,  the  whip,  I  do  not  mean  to  deny  it,  must  be  used 
in  the  commencement;  the  animal  must  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  its  power,  and  taught  to  know  that  it  is  the 
ultimate  consequence  of  refractory  conduct  or  obstinacy. 

The  great  point  to  be  gained  is  to  make  a  dog  aware 
that  he  has  done  wrongly,  before  he  is  punished ;  the 
great  point  to  be  avoided,  the  punishing  him,  so  far  as  he 
knows,  for  no  offence ;  that  is,  when  he  is  ignorant  of  any 
wrong-doing. 

When  punishment  is  to  be  inflicted,  it  should  be 
done  with  a  sharp,  tough,  slender  whip,  capable  of  inflict- 
ing stinging,  painful  strokes,  but  incapable  of  cutting,  as 
a  cowhide ;  or  bruising,  as  the  heavy  thongs  one  often  sees 
used  for  the  purpose.  A  stick  should  never  be  laid  to  a 
dog,  unless  it  be  a  slender  birchen  twig,  or  the  like,  for  it 
almost  invariably  bruises.  The  ears  should  on  no  account 
ever  be  pulled  so  as  to  give  pain,  for  to  do  so  is  almost 
sure  to  produce  deafness ;  though  it  is  very  well  to  pinch 
them  gently  as  a  sign  of  rebuke,  and  perhaps  to  box  them 
slightly  with  the  fingers,  while  rating  and  scolding  the  ani- 
mal. When  intelligent,  and  kindly  treated,  it  is  remark- 


160  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

able  how  sensitive  dogs  are  to  reprimand,  and  how  in- 
tensely they  dislike  to  be  held  gently,  but  forcibly,  down, 
and  rated  and  reproached  for  several  minutes  together  by 
their  master. 

I  have  a  Newfoundland  dog  in  my  possession,  certainly 
a  most  singularly  intelligent  and  attached  animal,  which, 
after  having  committed  any  escapade  and  returned  to  fol- 
low at  heel,  if  one  turn  round  the  head  to  look  at  him  and 
merely  say — "  Ain't  you  ashamed,  sir  ?  " — will  dodge  from 
side  to  side,  still  keeping  close  to  heel,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  reproachful  look,  so  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  catch 
his  eye,  and  will  follow,  with  his  stern  lowered  between  his 
legs,  looking  ludicrously  disconsolate  and  unhappy,  till 
he  is  forgiven  and  again  admitted  to  favor. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  say,  that  to  kick  a  dog  under 
any  circumstances  is  an  act  of  utter  and  unpardonable 
brutality — a  bone  may  be  broken  in  an  instant,  and  a  valu- 
able animal  destroyed,  when  no  such  result  is  thought  of, 
much  less  intended  by  the  human  brute,  who  practises  the 
savagism. 

I  once  took  all  my  dogs  out  of  the  hands  of  an  other- 
wise undeniable  dog-breaker,  to  whom  I  had  determined 
to  intrust  three  or  four  puppies,  for  no  other  reason,  than 
that  I  saw  him  once  punish  a  young  pointer  on  the  snipe 
meadows,  where  no  rod  or  switch  was  at  hand,  by  kicking 
him. 

Once  a  kicker  ! — I  said  to  myself,  a  kicker  always ! 
and  as  I  had  no  desire  to  have  one  of  my  fine  young  dog's 
ribs  broken,  and  then  be  told  that  he  had  unluckily  died 
of  fits  or  of  the  distemper,  I  removed  him  from  the  strong 


THE   DOG.  161 

probabilities  of  that  fate ;  as  I  advise  all  my  readers  to 
do,  under  the  like  circumstances. 

Before  I  have  done  with  this  part  of  my  subject,  in 
order  to  avoid  being  misunderstood,  I  will  add,  that  when 
correction  is  needed,  it  should  be  given,  in  kindness  to  the 
sufferer,  in  earnest,  and  once  for  all;  so  that  he  shall 
remember  the  infliction,  and  need  no  repetition.  One 
sound  flagellation,  when  really  deserved,  will  do  twenty 
times  the  good,  morally,  and  not  inflict  half  the  suffering, 
physically,  of  twenty,  or  twenty  times  twenty,  insufficient, 
teasing  corrections,  which  keep  the  dog  in  constant  agita- 
tion and  irritation,  without  making  him  once  really  care 
about  it,  or  remember  it. 

A  dog,  when  he  has  once  learned  what  a  whipping  is, 
will  be  sufficiently  warned  by  the  mere  sight  of  the 
instrument  of  flagellation,  shown  menacingly,  with  a  word 
or  two  of  objurgation.  The  menace  must  not,  however, 
be  repeated  in  vain,  or  it  will  be  a  short  time  only  ere 
it  lose  its  effect,  from  the  offender  perceiving  that  no  exe- 
cution follows. 

In  such  cases,  with  old  knowing  dogs,  who  are  as  much 
aware  as  their  master  that  they  are  doing  wrong,  if  they 
neglect  warning  and  take  no  heed  of  threats,  two  or  three 
smart  cuts,  with  a  long  rating,  is  as  good  in  its  effect  as 
half  an  hour's  flagellation.  Where  the  offence  is  very 
grave,  such  as  rushing  in  on  a  fallen  bird,  breaking  point 
from  jealousy  of  another  dog,  chasing  violently  heedless 
of  the  call,  paying  no  attention  to  the  call  or  whistle, 
refusing  to  come  to  heel  or  down  charge  ;  where  the  fault 
evidently  arises  from  wilfuluess,  and  not  from  accident  or 


162  MANUAL    FOE    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

the  casual  wantonness  of  high  spirits,  as  when  a  dog  has 
been  long  confined  without  being  shot  over — then  indeed 
chastisement  must  not  hide  his  head. 

The  sportsman  should,  however,  always  have  a  careful 
heed  to  causes,  and  to  the  actuating  motives  of  his  dogs, 
before  he  punishes.  I  have  seen  good,  careful,  true-nosed 
dogs  flogged  for  flushing  birds  ;  when  it  was  evident  to  me, 
from  their  coming  to  the  point  instantly,  and  looking 
around  with  a  deprecatory  glance,  that  the  fault  was  acci- 
dental, or,  in  fact,  no  fault  at  all,  but  the  consequence  of 
existing  circumstances  ;  perhaps  the  failure  of  scent  owing 
to  the  state  of  the  ground,  or  of  the  atmosphere.  Again, 
I  have  seen  a  martinet  punish  dogs,  what  I  call  cruelly,  for 
not  sitting  down  to  charge,  on  snipe  ground,  where  the 
water  was  three  inches  deep  and  as  cold  as  ice  ;  when  the 
poor  brutes  were  standing  to  charge,  perfectly  passive, 
with  ears  and  sterns  lowered,  and  only  failed  to  squat,  on 
account  of  the  state  of  the  ground. 

But  it  is  needless  to  multiply  instances.  In  the  former 
case,  all  that  is  desirable  is  a  gentle  "  Have  a  care,  Sir ! 
Have  a  ca-are,  Don  !  "  in  the  latter,  when  a  shot  should 
be  again  fired  on  good  dry  ground,  to  insist  on  the  charge 
being  made  in  the  most  perfect  style,  with  the  paws 'ex- 
tended and  the  nose  down  between  them. 

By  the  way  !  if  a  dog  be  at  all  unsteady,  the  only 
sure  plan  is  to  make  him  charge,  whenever  a  bird  rises, 
whether  shot  at  or  not.  In  fact,  it  is  better  always  to 
make  him  do  so,  steady  or  not ;  and,  if  a  retriever,  never 
to  allow  him  to  gather  a  dead  bird  until  he  have  pointed  it. 

Thus  much  as  to  general  rules,  for  dogs  in  general. 


THE    DOG.  163 

When  we  come  to  the  several  varieties,  I  shall  speak  some- 
what more  largely ;  but  as  this  work  is  intended  chiefly 
for  young  sportsmen  and  beginners,  I  shall  not  enter  into 
dog  breaking,  of  which  they  are  not  supposed  to  be  capa- 
ble, even  if  in  positions  and  circumstances  where  they 
might  attempt  it.  Neither  my  subject  nor  my  limits  will 
permit. 

In  like  manner,  diseases,  remedies,  except  the  very  com- 
monest and  most  simple,  do  not  come  within  my  subject  or 
sphere;  in  such  cases,  the  best  thing  to  take  is  advice. 
Young  beginners,  who  seek  to  cure  by  dosing  and  drugging, 
are  pretty  sure  to  kill.  Those  who  wish  to  learn  what  is 
necessary  of  such  things  for  accomplished  sportsmen,  will 
find  what  they  want  in  "  Dinks  and  Mayhew  on  the  dog ;  " 
the  former  excellent  authority  on  breaking,  the  latter  on 
medicine  ;  in  my  own  "  Field  Sports  ;  "  and  in  "  Elaine's 
Canine  Pathology,"  and  "  Youatt  on  the  Dog." 

Dogs  should  be  warmly  but  airily  housed ;  heartily, 
but  not  heatingly,  fed — old  Indian  meal,  mixed  with  oat- 
meal, suppawn,  is  the  best  general  food,  with  a  small 
quantity  of  salt,  which  is  a  preventive  against  worms — 
occasionally  some  vegetables  may  be  added,  and  once  or 
twice  a  week,  sheep's-head  broth,  the  water  in  which  meat 
is  boiled  for  the  house,  or  greasy  slops  of  any  kind ;  milk 
and  buttermilk,  whenever  they  can  be  spared,  are  excel- 
lent additions — they  should  have  abundance  of  water, 
abundance  of  exercise,  be  kept  scrupulously  clean  and 
dry,  and  their  condition  and  efficiency  will  well  repay  the 
care. 

The  dogs  most  used  by  sportsmen  in  this  country  are, 


104  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

or  ought  to  be — "  The  Setter;  the  Pointer  ;  the  Cocker; 
the  Water-dog ;  the  Newfoundland ;  the  Deerhound ;  the 
Foxhound;  and  the  Beagle."  To  each  of  these  I  shall 
devote  a  few  remarks,  as  to  their  characters,  qualifications, 
points  and  uses ;  to  the  services  and  localities  for  which 
they  are  the  best  fitted ;  how  to  get  them  good ;  how  to 
keep  them  so ;  and  how  to  use  them  to  the  best  advan- 
tage. 

I  shall  not  go  into  minutiae  of  breeding  or  natural 
history — such  disquisitions  will  be  found  elsewhere,  in  the 
works  I  have  named  above,  and  in  many  English  books, 
which  cannot  be  too  highly  recommended ;  I  would  par- 
ticularly specify  Colonel  Hutchinson,  on  Dog  breaking; 
Scrope,  on  Deer  stalking ;  Colquhoun,  on  the  Moor  and 
the  Loch;  and  Hawker,  on  Seafowl  shooting;  who  are 
the  best  authorities  on  their  several  respective  specialities. 

I  may  here  add,  that  the  field  for  wild-sports,  and  the 
market  for  sporting  dogs,  like  the  course  of  Empire, 
"  westward  take  their  way."  The  failure  of  game  in  the 
Eastern  and  Middle  States  renders  it  yearly  more  and 
more  difficult  to  break  dogs  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  or 
to  obtain  well  broke  dogs  thereon. 

English  broke  dogs  do  not  succeed  any  where  >in 
America,  owing  to  the  difference  of  the  ground,  the  game, 
and  the  mode  of  hunting  it.  English  bred  dogs,  how- 
ever, of  all  kinds,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Rus- 
sian setter,  are  the  best  for  all  purposes,  indeed,  the  only 
dogs  worth  having. 


THE    SETTEE, 

FIRST  in   the  list  of  sporting  dogs,  without  a  moment's 
hesitation,  I  place  the  Setter. 

For — although  the  pointer  possesses  many  excellen- 
cies, among  others  greater  docility,  or  rather,  perhaps, 
greater  retention  of  what  he  has  learned,  with  less  inclina- 
tion to  run  riot  and  require  partial  rebreaking,  after  he 
has  long  lain  idle,  than  the  setter — which  qualities  cer- 
tainly render  him  preferable  for  very  young  shooters,  or 
for  residents  of  cities  who  shoot  but  a  few  days  in  the 


166  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

year — I  must  agree  with  that  agreeable  sporting  English 
writer,  "  Craven,"  that  "  the  first  place  among  shooting 
dogs  must  be  awarded  to  the  setter. 

o 

"  In  style  and  dash  of  ranging,  in  courage  and  capa- 
city of  covering  ground ;  in  beauty  of  form  and  grace  of 
attitude ;  in  variety  of  color  and  elegance  of  clothing ; 
no  animal  of  his  species  will  at  all  bear  comparison  with 
him." 

I  will  add  that,  in  endurance  of  extreme  fatigue ;  in 
supporting  cold  and  wet;  in  facing  thorny  brakes  and 
tangled  covert;  in  travelling  with  uninjured  feet  over 
stony  mountain  ledges,  across  plains  bristling  with  spiked 
sword-grass,  or  over  burnt  coppices  ragged  with  jags  and 
stubbs ;  and  generally  in  working,  day  in  and  day  out,  for 
weeks,  or  through  a  season  together,  the  setter  distances 
the  bravest  pointers  I  have  ever  seen. 

His  temper  too  is  usually  milder,  he  is  a  more  aflec- 
tionate  and  friendly  dog — this  praise  is  not,  however,  due 
to  the  Irish  variety,  which  is  apt  t )  be  savage — and  is,  in 
my  opinion,  also  a  wiser  and  more  intelligent  and  saga- 
cious animal;  although  he  is  so  much  more  frolicsome, 
larking  and  high-spirited,  that  it  is,  undeniably,  more  diffi- 
cult to  keep  him  in  command,  and  more  necessary  to  rule 
him  with  a  strict  hand  and  observant  eye,  than  the  pointer. 

For  the  made  and  complete  sportsman,  therefore,  I 
without  a  moment's  doubt  advise  the  adoption  of  the  set- 
ter, especially  for  America,  where,  or  at  least  in  the  greater 
part  of  which,  almost  all  the  shooting  is  either  covert- 
shooting  or  marsh-shooting ;  for  both  of  which  branches 
of  sport  I  consider  one  setter  as  equal,  for  the  quantity 


THE    SETTER.  167 

of  service  to  be  got  out  of  him,  to  two  pointers,  and  for 
the  satisfactory  style  of  doing  the  work,  and  the  cheerful 
endurance  of  the  toil  without  suifering,  yet  more  superior. 

On  this  subject,  I  shall  quote  the  brief  opinion  of  "  a 
gentleman,  a  large  breeder  of  sporting  dogs,"  from  a  work 
of  "  Craven's,"  which  I  feel  myself  the  more  justified  in 
doing  that  he  often,  and  oirce  in  this  very  work,  borrows 
from  me,  not  only  not  rendering  credit  where  it  is  due,  but 
inventing  a  "  Mrs.  Harris"  in  the  shape  of  an  American 
correspondent,  to  bear  the  weight  of  my  offendings. 

"  I  have  tried  all  sorts,"  says  he,  "  and  at  last  fixed  on 
a  well-bred  setter  as  the  most  useful.  I  say  well-bred,  for 
not  many  of  the  dogs  with  feathered  sterns,  which  one 
sees  nowadays,  are  worthy  of  the  name  of  setter.  Pointer 
fanciers  object  to  setters  on  account  of  their  requiring 
more  water,  but  there  are  generally  sufficient  springs  and 
peat-holes  on  the  moors  for  them,  and  even  in  the  early 
part  of  September  a  horsepond  or  ditch  is  to  be  met  with 
often  enough.  For  covert  or  snipe-shooting  the  setter  is 
far  superior  ;  facing  the  thorns  in  the  covert,  and  the  wet 
in  the  bogs,  without  coming  to  heel  shivering  like  a  pig 
with  the  ague.  I  have  always  found,  too,  that  setters, 
when  well  broke,  are  finer  tempered,  and  not  so  easily 
cowed  as  pointers.  Should  they  get  an  unlucky  unde- 
served kick,  Don,  the  setter,  wags  his  tail,  and  forgets 
it  much  sooner  than  Carlo,  the  pointer.  My  shooting, 
lying  near  the  moors,  takes  in  every  description  of  coun- 
try, and  I  always  find,  that  after  a  good,  rough  day,  the 
setter  will  out-tire  the  pointer,  though,  perhaps,  not  start 
quite  so  flash  in  the  morning. 


168  MANUAL    FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

"  I  always  teach  one,  at  least,  of  my  dogs  to  bring  his 
game,  which  saves  a  world  of  trouble,  both  in  covert  and 
out  of  it,  but  never  allow  him  to  stir  for  the  birds  until 
after  loading." 

The  writer  is  an  Englishman,  which  accounts  for  the 
allusion  to  the  moors  and  the  early  part  of  September, 
which  are  not  applicable  to  this  country,  but  I  preferred 
to  let  it  stand  and  comment  on  it  at  leisure. 

Our  summer  shooting,  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  year, 
from  July  through  August,  is  only  for  woodcock,  and  lies 
invariably  in  wet  ground,  and  almost  invariably  in  covert ; 
in  no  case,  therefore,  at  this  season  is  the  setter  likely  to 
suffer  from  thirst,  and  so  to  prove  inferior  to  the  pointer, 
which  really  has  the  advantage  over  him  in  supporting 
extreme  dry  heat.  Where  the  shooting  is  in  thick  coverts, 
the  setter  has  the  best  of  it. 

Again,  in  the  autumn  shooting,  which  does  not  com- 
mence until  the  end  of  October,  there  is  much  more  of 
cold  than  of  heat  to  be  endured,  and,  the  springs  and 
rivers  being  ordinarily  full,  there  is  never  any  difficulty 
of  procuring  enough  water  for  the  thirstiest  of  dogs. 

On  the  grouse-mountains  in  Pennsylvania,  and  among 
scrub  oaks  and  burnt  woodlands,  I  have  found  the  well- 
feathered  legs  and  full  toe-tufts  of  setters  to  give  them 
great  advantage  over  the  barefooted  pointers,  which  I 
have  frequently  seen  the  necessity  of  hunting  in  buckskin 
boots. 

In  the  southern  country  where  quail-shooting,  or  par- 
tridge-shooting, as  it  is  there  termed,  is  followed  in  sultry 
weather,  the  lands  are  so  irriguous  and  so  well  watered  as 


THE    SETTEE.  169 

a  general  thing,  that  the  setter  need  not  suffer,  while  the 
great  preponderance  of  snipe  and  marsh-shooting  gives  him 
the  preference. 

The  only  portion  of  the  United  States,  in  which  I 
should  consider  the  pointer  preferable,  is  the  dry  prairies 
of  the  West,  where  it  is  frequently  indispensable  to  carry 
out  water  for  the  dogs  in  grouse-shooting,  which  takes 
place  in  the  intolerably  hot  weather,  on  those  treeless 
plains,  of  August  and  the  earlier  part  of  September. 

A  prodigious  quantity  of  nonsense  has  been  written 
under  the  pretext  of  ascertaining  or  deriving  the  original 
breed  and  stock  of  the  setter — some  writers  insisting  that 
he  is  a  treble  or  quadruple  mongrel,  part  setter,  part 
pointer,  and  some  add,  part  Newfoundland  and  part  fox- 
hound. 

One  sporting  writer — wonders  will  never  cease  ! — and 
he  a  man  of  some  repute  both  as  a  sportsman  and  an 
authority,  has  actually  given  a  receipt  in  one  of  his  works, 
for  manufacturing  a  setter.  He  desires  the  aspirant  for 
the  possession  of  a  perfect  dog  of  this  breed,  of  which  he 
records  his  own  opinion,  that  it  is  the  best  in  the  world,  to 
cross  a  foxhound  with  a  pointer,  and  to  recross  the  pro- 
geny with  the  low  small  Newfoundland  of  St.  Johns.  The 
offspring  of  this  last  cross  is  to  be  the  given  setter. 

And  this,  as  if  there  were  not  half  a  dozen  pure  and 
distinct  families  of  setters  reproducing  themselves  to  the 
smallest  distinctive  mark  of  shape,  coat  and  color,  genera- 
tion after  generation,  in  England  alone,  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  Russian  and  Irish  varieties. 

He  had  precisely  as  well,  in  order  to  raise  a  London 


170  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

dray-horse,  have  desired  the  breeder  to  cross  a  jenny  ass 
with  an  elephant  to  give  size,  and  then  to  recross  the  pro- 
geny with  a  bear  in  order  to  gain  courage  and  a  hairy  coat. 

The  truth,  and  it  is  now  generally  admitted — certainly 
admitted  by  all  physiologists  and  natural  historians— is,  that 
except  the  spaniel,  the  setter  is  the  oldest  and  purest  of 
all  the  sporting  breeds.  In  fact  it  is,  itself,  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  spaniel  of  the  largest  size,  cultivated  by 
the  selection  of  the  best  types  for  parents,  by  superior 
food,  good  housing,  and  judicious  crossing,  not  with  dif- 
erent  varieties  of  the  dog,  but  with  various  families  of  its 
own  distinct  variety,  until  it  has  been  brought  nearly  to 
perfection. 

The  habit  of  setting  or  pointing  its  game,  which  is  now 
an  instinctive  and  natural  qualification  of  its  race,  was 
originally  an  acquired  trick,  taught  by  diligent  breaking. 
Centuries  of  tuition  have  rendered  that  acquired  trick  an 
hereditary  gift,  so  much  so,  that  no  good  judge  of  animals 
would  now  think  a  young  setter  worthy  of  being  put  into 
the  breaker's  hands,  if  he  did  not  point  naturally  and 
without  instruction. 

This  conversion  of  foreign  and  acquired  tricks  into 
hereditary  and  congenital  powers,  transmitted  from  sire  >to 
son,  is  extraordinary ;  but  this  is  by  no  means  its  most 
extraordinary  phase.  Every  sportsman,  who  has  kept  and 
reared  families  of  pointer  puppies — in  which  variety,  as  I 
have  said  before,  this  retention  of  acquired  habits  is  even 
more  common  than  in  the  setter — must  often  have  observed 
the  whelps,  under  four  months  of  age,  when  no  instruction 
has  ever  been  given  them,  nor  have  they  acquired  any 


THE   SETTER.  171 

apprehension  of  men,  not  only  pointing  the  chickens  and 
pigeons,  in  the  stable  yard  or  in  the  street,  but  backing 
one  another  in  their  points. 

Now  backing  is  entirely,  and  from  the  beginning,  a  bit 
of  tuition.  There  is  no  movement  resembling  it  in  the 
natural  action  of  a  dog,  nor,  if  there  were,  could  it  be  of 
any  service  to  him  in  a  state  of  nature,  but  rather  the 
reverse. 

It  is  assumed,  no  one  can  say  with  how  much  plausi- 
bility or  truth,  that  the  assumption  and  retention  of  a 
stationary  attitude,  on  coming  upon  a  hot  scent,  is  merely 
an  adaptation  to  our  uses,  by  the  breaker,  of  a  natural 
peculiarity  of  the  dog  intended  by  nature  for  his  own 
behoof. 

On  scenting  his  game  and  crawling  up  as  he  still  does, 
almost  on  his  belly,  and  elbows,  to  the  immediate  prox- 
imity of  it,  the  animal  naturally,  it  is  said,  paused,  in 
some  instances  couched — as  does  the  cat  or  leopard — 
in  order  to  collect  its  energies  and  contract  its  muscles  for 
the  fatal  spring.  This  pause,  it  is  added,  man  has  seized ; 
taught  the  animal  to  prolong  it ;  and  so  adapted  it  to  his 
own  purpose.  It  surely  can  be  no  native  instinct  implanted 
by  the  Creator  in  the  dog  from  the  beginning ;  since  no 
animal  possesses  an  instinct,  which  to  possess  would  be 
useless,  much  more  injurious  to  itself. 

How  a  dog  standing  stock  still,  as  if  in  a  half  catalep- 
tic state,  with  eyes  glaring,  lips  slavering,  tail  rigid,  back 
bristling,  and  limbs  quivering  with  excitement,  motion- 
less and  attempting  to  effect  nothing  for  ten  minutes,  or 
half  an  hour,  until  the  bevy  of  birds  takes  to  its  wings  and 


172  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMKN. 

away,  should  help  him  in  a  state  of  nature  to  get  his  supper, 
is  inconceivable ;  but  that  because  one  dog  on  scenting 
game  assumes  this  strange  position,  his  friend  who  is  hunt- 
ing in  company  with  him,  instead — as  one  naturally  would 
suppose  him  likely  to  do — of  rushing  to  share  the  fun  and 
partake  of  the  spoils,  should  do  the  like,  is  far  more  won- 
derful ;  as,  where  it  does  not  naturally  exist,  it  is  infinitely 
more  difficult  to  teach. 

Naturalists  have  classified  dogs  under  three  principal, 
general  divisions ;  veloces,  the  swift ;  feroces,  the  savage ; 
and  sagaces,  the  intelligent ;  of  which  the  greyhound,  the 
bull-dog,  and  the  spaniel  are  respectively  the  types.  To 
the  latter  species  belong  all  the  dogs  which  hunt  by  nose, 
having  as  their  anatomical  character,  according  to  Blaine, 
"  the  head  very  moderately  elongated ;  parietal  bones  not 
approaching  each  other  above  the  temples,  but  diverging 
and  swelling  out,  so  as  to  enlarge  the  forehead,  and  the 
cerebral  cavity.  This  group  includes  some  of  the  most 
useful  and  intelligent  dogs." 

The  anatomical  distinction  first  named  is  probably  the 
cause,  as  well  as  the  sign,  of  the  superiority  of  this  variety 
of  dogs,  as  it  gives  room  for  the  capacity  of  brain,  which, 
whether  in  man  or  the  inferior  animal,  invariably  indicates 
and  produces  superiority  of  intellect. 

In  all  the  spaniels  proper,  the  eye  is  full,  liquid,  and 
speaking ;  the  nose  well  developed,  with  large  and  open 
nostrils ;  the  coat  silky,  soft,  and  in  some  cases  much  waved, 
and  almost  curly.  The  colors  of  the  various  families  of 
this  variety  are  almost  innumerable,  varying  from  pure 
black,  white  and  yellow,  tan,  liver  and  orange,  to  ring- 


THE   SETTER.  173 

streaked,  spotted  and  speckled,  with  all  these  tints  two  by 
two,  and  sometimes  three  by  three ;  as  black  and  white, 
with  tan  spots  about  the  eyes  and  muzzle,  and  tan  feet. 
The  ears  are  generally  long  and  pendulous,  and  are  the 
most  curly  part  of  the  body.  The  legs,  belly,  and  stern 
are  deeply  flewed  or  feathered  with  a  long  fringe  of  soft, 
silky  hair,  and  the  feet  are  protected  with  tufts  about  the 
ancles  and  between  the  toes,  which  afford  much  defence  to 
these  delicate  portions  of  the  body. 

Of  this  family,  the  setter  of  pure  English  blood  is  the 
largest  variety,  perhaps  improved  by  culture — I  say,  per- 
haps, for  I  do  not  find  any  real  reason  for  believing  that 
it  has  been  enlarged  in  the  process  of  time,  and  there  is 
certainly  less  distinction  between  it  and  some  of  the  large 
varieties  of  what  are  called  true  spaniels,  and  which  are 
in  appearance  pony-built  setters,  than  between  some  of 
those  varieties  themselves,  as  the  clumber  breed  and  the 
King  Charles. 

The  only  permanent  structural  distinction  if  it  can  be 
called  so,  is  the  size  of  the  ear,  which  is  smaller,  and  looks 
as  if  it  had  been  rounded  by  art.  This  peculiarity  is, 
however,  shared  by  the  Newfoundland  dog,  who  is  admit- 
ted to  be  spaniel. 

The  coat  also  is  somewhat  coarser,  though  still  in  the 
best  families  excessively  soft,  silky,  and  beautiful,  and 
waves  rather  than  curls  as  in  the  proper  smaller  spaniels. 
Especially  about  the  ears  is  this  texture  of  the  coat  observ- 
able. Setters,  however,  differ  in  this  respect,  and  I  have 
seen  dogs,  and  once  owned  one — and  he  was,  perhaps,  the 
very  best  I  ever  did  own,  a  liver  and  white  dog  called 


174  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Chance — which  was  as  curly  about  the  ears  and  poll  as 
an  ordinary  water-spaniel. 

I  do  not  know  the  pedigree  of  this  animal,  and  it  is 
possible,  though  barely  so,  that  he  might  have  a  cross  of 
water-spaniel  in  his  blood.  It  is  not,  however,  probable, 
for  the  water  spaniel  is  an  exceedingly  rare  dog  in  the 
United  States,  so  much  so  that  in  a  residence  of  five  and 
twenty  years,  I  have  not  seen  half  a  dozen  of  the  race. 
His  character  and  conduct  showed  nothing  of  the  spaniel, 
which  is  the  most  riotous  and  hard  to  break  of  all  sporting 
dogs,  for  he  was  singularly  docile,  cool-headed,  and,  though 
the  best  retriever  I  ever  saw,  was  almost,  if  not  quite,  the 
stanchest  setter,  both  at  the  point,  and  the  down  charge. 

The  chief  cause  of  the  question  which  has  arisen  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  this  beautiful  and  sagacious  animal, 
it  appears  to  me,  is  simply  the  new  name,  which  with  the 
improvement  of  field-sports,  the  subdivisions  which  have 
been  introduced,  and  the  nicer  distinctions  which  have 
been  of  consequence  required,  has  come  into  use,  it  would 
seem,  within  the  last  century. 

I  find  it  variously  stated,  that  the  spaniel  was  first 
taught  to  set  in  the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  and  that  he  is 
mentioned  in  a  MS.  treatise  by  the  grand  huntsman  of 
that  monarch,  so  long  ago  as  1307 — and,  again,  that 
Dudley,  Duke  of  Northumberland  in  1335,  first  systemati- 
cally broke  in  setting  dogs. 

One  objection,  and  a  very  material  one,  to  the  latter 
version,  being  the  fact  that  Robert  Dudley  was  not  Earl, 
much  less  Duke,  of  Northumberland  in  1335,  but  Henry 
Percy. 


THE    SETTER.  1  I .) 

A  curious  document,  which  is  probably  the  earliest 
legal  instrument  of  this  nature  on  record,  is  in  existence, 
having  been  preserved  by  Mr.  Daniel  in  his  Rural  Sports, 
proving  that  in  the  seventeenth  century  setter  breaking 
was  an  understood  and  regularly  managed  branch  of 
business. 

Singularly  enough,  this  document  is  a  contract  between 
a  Worcestershire  farmer  and  a  namesake,  and  doubtless  a 
collateral  ancestor,  of  my  own — since  a  branch  of  my 
family  were  early  settled  in  that  county — which  would 
seem  to  show  that  I  come  honestly  by  my  love  of  field- 
sports,  as  a  matter  of  inheritance  from  past  generations. 

"  RIBBESFORD,  Oct.  7,  1685. 

"  I,  John  Harris  of  Willdon,  in  the  parish  of  Hastle- 
bury,  in  the  county  of  Worcester,  yeoman,  for  and  in 
consideration  of  ten  shillings  of  lawful  English  money  this 
day  received  of  Henry  Herbert  of  Ribbesford  in  the  said 
county,  Esq.,  and  of  thirty  shillings  more  of  like  money 
by  him  promised  to  be  hereafter  payed  me,  do  hereby 
covenant  and  promise  to  the  said  Henry  Herbert,  his 
ex'ors  and  adm'ors,  that  I  will  from  the  day  of  the  date 
hereof,  until  the  first  day  of  March  next,  well  and  suffi- 
ciently maintain  and  keep  a  Spanile  bitch,  named  Quand, 
this  day  delivered  into  my  custody  by  the  said  Henry 
Herbert,  and  will  before  the  first  day  of  March  next,  fully 
and  effectually  traine  up  and  teach  the  said  Bitch  to  set 
Partridges,  Pheasants  and  other  game  as  well  and  exactly 
as  the  best  sitting  doggers  usually  set  the  same.  And  the 
said  Bitch  so  trained  and  taught  shall  and  will  deliver  to 


176  MANUAL    FOK    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

the  said  Henry  Herbert,  or  whom  he  shall  appoint  to 
receive  her,  at  his  house  in  Ribbesford  aforesaid,  on  the 
first  day  of  March  next.  And  if  at  any  time  the  said 
Bitch  shall  for  want  of  use  and  practice  or  o'rwise  forget  to 
sett  game  as  aforesaid,  I  will  at  my  cost  and  charges, 
maintain  her  for  a  month  or  longer  as  needs  may  require, 
to  traine  up  and  teach  her  to  sett  game  as  aforesaid,  and 
shall  and  will  fully  and  effectually  teach  her  to  sett  game 
as  well  and  exactly  as  is  above  mentioned. 

"  Witness  my  hand  and  seal  the  day  and  year  first 
above  written. 

"  JOHN  HARRIS  his  X  mark. 

"  Sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of 

"  H.  PAYNE  his  x  mark." 

The  fowling-piece  not  being  at  that  time  invented,  nor 
indeed  brought  to  any  perfection  a  century  later,  the 
object  of  breaking  the  spaniel  to  set  was  the  netting  of 
birds,  which  is  now  regarded  as  rank  poaching.  The 
training  was,  however,  identical ;  and  stanchness  was,  if 
possible,  more  necessary,  inasmuch  as  drawing  the  net  over 
the  covey  requires  longer  time  than  merely  to  walk  up  to 
the  game,  then  than  now.  The  price,  as  the  value  of 
money  then  stood,  is  very  large.  At  all  events,  the  pas- 
sage proves  the  antiquity  of  this  mode  of  training,  and 
further  shows,  at  that  day,  that  the  identity  of  the  setting 
spaniel  with  the  other  breeds  of  the  same  dog,  was  not 
questioned. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  term  setter  is  very 
recent ;  the  animal,  when  all  its  present  habits  and  char- 


THE    SETTEE.  177 

acteristics  were  fully  developed,  retaining  the  name  of 
spaniel.  Gay  calls  him  the  "  creeping  spaniel,"  and 
Thomson,  that  accurate  observer  and  close  describer  of 
nature,  thus  writes  of  him,  in  terms  that  leave  no  question 
as  to  what  manner  of  dog  he  alludes  to  : — 

"  How,  in  his  mid-career,  the  spaniel  struck 
Stiff  by  the  tainted  gale,  with  open  nose 
Outstretched,"  &c. 

It  is  stated  by  Mr.  Elaine,  that  the  setter  is  still  called 
iu  Ireland  the  English  spaniel.  If  it  be  so,  it  would  go 
far  to  disprove  the  generally  received  idea  that  the  Irish 
setter  is  an  original  family,  if  not,  as  some  suppose,  the 
original  stock.  I  doubt,  however,  both  the  fact,  and  the 
deduction. 

In  my  "  Field  Sports  "  (vol.  i.  p.  32o),  I  surmised  that 
"  the  Irish  dog  is  undoubtedly  the  original  type  of  the  set- 
ter in  Great  Britain." 

I  have,  since  writing  this,  seen  reason  entirely  to  alter 
my  opinion ;  which  was  induced  by  the  large  admixture  of 
Irish  blood  which  has  been  introduced  into  many  of  the 
choicest  English  families,  those  especially  which  run  to 
orange  and  white  with  black  noses  and  muzzles ;  one 
family,  in  particular,  with  which  I  had  most  acquaint- 
ance. The  races  are,  however,  I  think,  now,  where  not 
intentionally  interbred,  entirely  distinct. 

The  English  dog  is  distinguished  by  his  inferior  bone 
and  stoutness ;  superior  grace  and  delicacy ;  the  greater 
length,  silkiness,  and  curl  of  his  coat ;  his  blandness, 
affection,  good-nature  and  docility  ;  in  all  which  points  he 


178  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

much  more  closely  adheres  to  what  we  now  call  the 
spaniel,  than  does  his  Irish  cousin. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  black,  black  and  white, 
pale  lemon-colored  and  white,  and  perhaps — though  I 
speak  this  doubtfully — liver  and  white,  are  the  true  and 
distinctive  colors  of  the  English  setting  spaniel.  I  some- 
what doubt  the  liver-colored,  because  I  observe,  first,  that 
it  is  distinctively  the  water-spaniel  color ;  and  secondly, 
that  where  that  color  prevails,  one  is  apt  also  to  find  a 
greater  tendency  to  curl — another  water-spaniel  sign — in 
the  hair. 

I  also  believe,  that  wherever  orange  or  deep  red  is 
found  in  the  English  breeds,  especially  coupled  with  the 
black  nose  and  palate,  there  is  an  Irish  strain. 

Sure  I  am  that,  as  a  rule,  though  of  course  there  are 
exceptions,  the  red  or  red  and  white  dogs  are  the  wildest 
and  the  most  difficult  to  break. 

In  choosing  an  English  setter,  the  first  thing  to 
examine  is  the  head ;  it  should  be  broad  and  expansive 
between  the  eyes  and  across  the  brow,  with  a  high  bony 
process  extending  upward  from  the  base  of  the  skull  to  the 
ridge  of  the  occiput.  The  nose  should  be  rather  long 
than  broad,  the  nostrils  well  opened,  soft  and  moist — the 
latter  condition  being  a  proof  of  good  health  and  a  sine 
qud  non  to  the  possession  of  great  scenting  powers.  The 
eye  should  be  large,  soft,  and  bland,  and  the  whole  expres- 
sion of  the  face  amiable  and  gentle. 

In  this  last  point  of  physiognomy  I  put  much  faith — 
I  never  saw  a  good  dog  with  a  bad  face;  nor  a  thoroughly 
bad  one,  with  an  intelligent,  open  expression  of  counte- 
nance. 


THE   SETTER.  179 

There  is  as  much  difference  in  dogs'  faces  as  there  is 
in  that  of  men ;  and  I  should  as  much  expect  to  find  the 
qualities  of  a  Walter  Scott,  a  Napoleon,  or  a  Washington, 
in  a  being  with  the  face  of  Hogarth's  bad  apprentice  or 
of  a  Jew  prize  fighter,  as  I  should  think  to  find  a  dog, 
with  a  cross,  spiteful  expression,  a  curt  nose,  thick  jaws, 
and  a  narrow  brow  with  a  deep  cleft  between  the  eyes,  a 
first-rate  animal  for  intellect,  memory  and  affection. 

For  the  rest,  a  pendulous  jowl  and  hanging  lip  are  a 
defect  in  a  setter,  as  they  are  the  reverse  in  a  pointer. 
Medium-sized  dogs  are  the  best,  both  for  endurance  of 
work  and  for  convenience  of  transportation  ;  besides  which, 
I  consider  great  size  and  heavy  bone,  especially  if  coupled 
with  harsh  coat,  a  symptom  of  coarse  blood. 

A  setter  should  be  high  and  thin  in  the  withers,  snaky 
in  the  neck,  roomy  in  the  chest,  long  in  the  arms  and 
quarters,  short  in  the  lower  legs,  round  and  cat-like  in  the 
feet,  well  fringed  or  feathered  on  belly  and  legs,  and  well 
furnished  with  pad  and  toe-tufts.  The  bone  of  his  tail 
should  be  slender ;  however  well,  and  it  cannot  be  too  well, 
feathered ;  his  coat  cannot  be  too  soft  and  silky,  nor  can 
he,  in  all  respects,  be  too  beautiful. 

His  beauty  is  a  sign  of  the  purity  of  his  race ;  and  in 
some  sort — which  I  fear  is  rarely  or  never  the  case  with 
us  men — an  indication  of  superior  intellectual  qualifica- 
tions ;  but  then  it  must  be  remembered  that,  although 
every  dog  is,  at  one  period  of  his  existence,  a  puppy,  one 
never  has  heard  of  a  canine  fop,  or,  except  in  the  old 
fable,  of  one  who  used  a  looking-glass. 

The  points  of  the  Irish  setter  are  a  more  bony,  angular 


180  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

and  wiry  frame,  a  longer  head,  a  less  silky  and  straighter 
coat,  than  those  of  the  English  breed.  His  color  ought 
to  be  a  deep  orange-red,  or  orange-red  and  white ;  a  com- 
mon mark  is  a  strip  of  white  between  the  eyes,  a  white 
ring  round  the  neck,  white  stockings,  and  a  white  tag  to 
the  tail ;  all  the  rest  deep  red. 

Unless  the  nose,  palate,  and  lips  are  black,  they  are 
not  in  Ireland  esteemed  pure ;  and  I  consider  the  point  a 
test  of  blood  and  a  proof  of  hardiness  in  all  breeds ;  I 
doubt  a  liver-colored,  and  detest  a  flesh-colored,  muzzle. 

The  characteristics  of  the  thorough  Irish  setter  are, 
often  savage  ferocity  of  temper,  always  extreme  courage, 
high  spirit  and  indomitable  pluck.  They  are  naturally 
wild,  and  given  to  riot  to  the  verge  of  indocility,  require 
much  breaking,  I  had  almost  said  continual  breaking,  a 
jealous  eye,  a  resolute  will,  and  a  tight  hand  over  them. 
With  these,  they  are  of  undeniable  excellence. 

They  are  not,  however,  by  any  means  the  right  kind 
for  young  sportsmen,  or  for  any  sportsmen  but  those  who 
are  constantly  in  the  field  whenever  game  is  in  season ;  for 
such,  their  hardihood  and  pluck  renders  them  invaluable. 

They  cross  well  with  the  English  setter,  if  it  can  be 
called  a  cross,  when  it  is  but  an  intermarriage  of  cousins, 
and  the  progeny  lose  something  of  the  temper  and  gain 
something  of  hardness. 

The  only  remaining  pure  variety  of  setter  to  be 
noticed  is  the  Kussian,  which  is  rarely  or  never  met  with 
in  this  country. 

It  is  an  admirable  creature,  docile,  good  and  gentle,  to 
a  charm.  Enduring,  beyond  any  other  race,  of  cold  and 


THE    8ETTEK.  181 

wet,  and  dauntless  beyond  any  other  in  covert,  but  more 
susceptible  of  heat  and  thirst  than  the  others  of  his  race. 

He  is,  I  think,  rather  taller  than  the  English  or  Irish 
dog,  muscular  and  bony  ;  his  head  is  shorter  and  rounder 
than  that  of  his  family,  and,  like  the  rest  of  his  body,  is 
so  completely  covered  with  long,  woolly,  matted  locks, 
tangled  and  curly  like  those  of  the  water-poodle,  only 
ten  times  more  so,  that  he  can  hardly  see  out  of  his 
eyes. 

His  color  is  black,  black  and  white,  or  pale  lemon  and 
white.  I  never  saw  one  of  any  other  color.  I  never  have 
seen  a  pure  one,  though  I  once  owned  a  half  breed — a 
most  superior  animal — in  America,  nor  are  they  common 
or  easily  attainable  in  England. 

I  learned  to  shoot  over  one  in  England,  which  I  was 
permitted  to  take  out  alone,  because  it  was  well  known 
that  "  Henry  could  not  spoil  Charon  ;  "  and  almost  every 
thing  that  I  know  of  shooting  that  old  Russian  taught  me. 
He  would  not  drop  to  shot,  if  a  bird  were  killed,  but  dashed 
right  in  to  fetch ;  yet  I  never  saw  him  flush  a  bird  of  a 
scattered  covey  in  my  life ;  for  if  the  fresh  birds  lay- 
between  him  and  those  killed,  he  would  set  them  all  one 
by  one.  In  the  same  way,  if  a  hare  were  wounded,  which 
he  knew  by  the  eye  by  some  indescribable  sign  which  no 
man  could  descry,  he  always  chased  and  never  failed  to 
retrieve  him.  If  he  were  missed  or  went  away  without  a 
shot,  he  would  charge  steadily  enough  ;  but  if  two  or 
three  shots  were  missed  in  succession,  particularly  in  the 
first  of  the  morning,  home  he  went  in  disgust,  in  spite  of 
all  threats  or  coaxing. 


182  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

Russian  setters  have  what  is  called  more  point,  they 
couch  lower,  and  steal  in  more  silently  on  their  game  than 
any  other  dog,  consequently  they  are  the  best  in  the 
world  over  which  to  shoot  game,  when  it  is  wild.  Could 
they  be  procured,  I  think  of  all  sporting  dogs  they  are  the 
most  adapted  for  ordinary  American  shooting,  and  the 
best  of  all  for  beginners.  They  have  less  style,  and  do 
not  range  so  high  as  the  English  or  Irish  dogs,  but  that 
is  no  disadvantage  for  America,  where  there  is  so  much 
covert  shooting. 

Setters  should  range  wide  and  swiftly,  with  the  head 
well  up  ;  dogs  which  puzzle  on  the  ground  except  on  bad 
scenting  days,  or  in  emergency  on  the  cold  trail  of  a 
wounded  animal,  have  generally  bad  noses ;  they  should, 
if  hunting  two  together,  cross  each  other  regularly  on 
their  beat,  if  singly,  quarter  the  ground  evenly  in  front  of 
the  shooter ;  they  should,  at  each  turn,  invariably  cast 
forward  so  as  not  to  come  on  old  ground,  and  never  cross 
backward,  behind  the  shooter.  This  is  a  very  bad  fault, 
causing  much  delay  and  loss  of  time,  and  it  is  hard  to 
cure  when  once  acquired. 

The  habit  of  quartering  ground  well  is  little  under- 
stood, or  taught,  even  by  professed  breakers  in  America, 
though  it  is  of  first  importance.  Most  dog  breakers  are 
content,  when  a  dog  stands  stanchly  on  his  game,  backs 
his  comrade,  drops  to  charge  at  the  word,  and  retrieves 
cleverly,  to  let  him  run  about  the  ground  as  he  will  at  his 
own  pleasure. 

There  is  no  greater  error.  A  dog,  which  does  so,  will 
beat  much  of  his  ground  twice  or  thrice  over,  and  leave 


THE    SETTER.  188 

much  altogether  untried,  so  that  not  only  will  much  time 
be  lost,  but  much  game  will  be  passed  over. 

The  man  who  shoots  over  dogs  or  a  dog  broken  to 
quarter  and  beat  his  ground  truly,  will  get  twice  as  many 
shots  on  the  same  ground,  and  in  the  same  time,  with 
another  hunting  animals  which  meander  at  their  own 
sweet  will. 

If  I  must  shoot  over  a  dog  unsteady  at  his  points  and 
unsteady  at  his  charge,  but  a  good  ranger  and  quarterer 
of  his  ground,  or  over  one  as  stanch  as  a  rock,  who  ran 
about  after  his  own  pleasure,  and  were  shooting  a  match, 
I  would  take  the  former,  confident  that  I  could  make  up 
by  the  quantity  of  game  found  for  the  other  defects. 

These  are  the  points  which  the  young  shooter  ought 
to  regard  in  choosing  his  dog,  though,  if  he  be  wise,  he  will 
take  some  experienced  friend  to  counsel. 

Let  him  remember,  that  it  costs  no  more  to  keep  a 
good  dog  than  a  bad  one ;  that  a  dog  properly  kept,  hav- 
ing been  well  bought  at  a  proper  age,  lasts  probably,  apart 
from  accidents,  five  or  six  years,  or  more ; — unless  he  be  so 
unhappy  as  to  live  in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  where  the  in- 
habitants throw  strychnine,  the  deadliest  of  all  poisons, 
broadcast,  in  the  streets,  without  the  interference,  if  not 
by  the  direct  encouragement,  of  the  city  government — that 
it  is,  therefore,  the  cheapest  plan  in  the  long  run,  to  buy 
a  good  dog ;  and  lastly,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  buy- 
ing a  good  dog  at  a  low  price. 

A  well-bred,  well-looking,  well-broke  setter,  or  pointer 
dog,  has  just  as  real  a  market  value,  apart  from  any  fancy 
price,  which  may  go  to  any  amount,  as  any  merchandise  in 


184  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

the  world,  and  is  exactly  as  sure — almost  surer  than  any 
— to  realize  it ;  since  there  is  always  a  greater  demand 
than  there  is  supply ;  and  since  gentlemen,  as  opposed  to 
dealers,  are  rarely,  if  ever,  tempted  by  price  to  part  with 
animals  which  suit  them.  Many  sportsmen  would  regard 
an  offer  as  an  affront,  akin  to  that  of  proposing  to  pur- 
chase his  family  plate  or  his  family  pictures. 

The  best  rule  for  teaching  a  dog  to  quarter  his  ground, 
and,  when  taught,  to  keep  him  at  it,  will  be  found  in 
"  Dinks  on  the  Dog,"  as  on  breaking  generally. 

The  above  precepts  for  choosing  a  dog  by  his  action 
are  equally  referable  to  the  setter  and  the  pointer,  although 
the  latter  is  something  slower,  steadier,  and  closer  in  his 
ranging.  Otherwise,  there  is  no  difference  in  their  style 
of  finding  or  pointing  game.  For  it  is  a  singular  thing 
that  in  America,  for  some  reason  which  I  cannot  compre- 
hend or  conceive,  and  for  which  I  never  heard  so  much  as 
a  plausible  conjecture,  the  pointer  and  setter  lose  the  dis- 
tinctive action  whence  they  derive  their  distinctive  names. 

In  England  the  pointer  invariably  stands  his  game, 
and  almost  invariably  points  it,  by  raising  sometimes  a 
fore  leg,  sometimes  a  hind  leg. 

There  the  setter,  if  not  invariably,  at  least  nine  times 
out  of  ten  sets  his  game,  falling  prostrate  as  if  shot,  and 
lying  so  close  as  often  to  show  only  the  tip  of  his  erected 
flag  above  the  stubble  or  turnips.  I  have  often  had  a 
brace  of  setters  go  down  so  suddenly,  when  shooting  hi 
high  turnips  or  potatoe  ridges,  the  eye  being  casually  off 
them  at  the  moment,  that  it  required  some  trouble  to  find 
them.  When  very  close  on  their  game  good  setters  never 


THE    SETTER.  185 

fail  to  do  this,  and  it  is  unusual  for  them  to  point  except 
at  hedgerows,  or  on  running  game. 

In  America,  wherever  I  have  shot,  East  or  West,  hi 
Canada  or  in  the  States,  I  have  but  twice  in  five  and 
twenty  years  seen  a  setter  set,  and  then  it  was  accidental ; 
so  far  as  this,  that  the  dog  usually  stood.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  also,  that,  on  my  first  arrival  in  this  country,  I 
shot  over  a  dog  which  was  bred  in  my  own  family  and 
which  I  broke  myself  in  England.  I  do  not  think  I  ever 
saw  him  point  in  his  old  country ;  I  know  I  never  saw  him 
set  in  his  new.  After  I  lost  him,  I  for  many  years  im- 
ported dogs,  of  the  same  family,  which  traced  back  to 
Lord  Clare's  red  Irish  breed  and  Colonel  Thornton's  cele- 
brated black  dog  "  Death,"  and  always  with  the  same  re- 
sult— not  one  of  them  ever  set. 

I  should  like  vastly  to  arrive  at  something,  concerning 
this  strange  point  in  natural  history,  but  it  defies  conjec- 
ture. 

I  omitted  above  to  say  that  in  my  own  opinion,  for 
choice,  perhaps  I  should  rather  say  for  fancy,  the  best 
colors  for  English  setters  are  pure  black;  pure  white — 
the  latter  very  rare — red  and  white,  or  lemon  and  white, 
with  black  noses;  black  and  white,  or  black  and  tan. 
Roan,  or  fleabitten  dogs,  whether  red  and  white  speckle, 
called  strawberry,  or  black  and  white  speckle,  called  blue, 
are  unobjectionable. 

But  I  have  something  of  a  prejudice  against  liver  or 
liver  and  white  setters  ;  as  I  regard  the  colors  as  belong- 
ing, of  right,  to  the  water-spaniel,  or  to  the  pointer,  and 
therefore  indicating  the  suspicion  of  a  cross.  In  the 


186  MANUAL  FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

same  way  I  always  suspect  red  and  white,  or  black  and 
white,  in  a  pointer,  for  the  converse  reason.  I  may  here 
add  that  I  regard  the  cross  of  the  setter  and  pointer,  com- 
monly known  as  the  dopper,  as  an  abominable  mongrel. 

There  is  a  breed  of  black  and  white  and  tan  setters  in. 
the  United  States,  known  as  the  "  Webster  setters,"  the 
original  stock  having  been  imported  by  that  great  states- 
man, from,  I  believe,  Lord  Derby's  kennel.  It  has  not 
generally  turned  out  well,  the  blood  generally  showing 
softness  and  timidity  in  the  field.  To  this  I  have  heard 
of  but  one  exception.  I  deem  the  color  altogether  doubt- 
ful and  suspicious.  Still  it  remains  to  be  said  that  the 
old  saying  of  horses  stands  good  of  dogs — that  good  ones 
are  always  of  good  colors,  and  that  there  is  no  absolute 
rule  in  these,  more  than  in  men, 

"  To  trace  the  mind's  complexion  in  the  face." 

Before  concluding  my  notice  of  this  dog,  I  will  add 
that  I  see  lately  a  much  lauded  and  advertised  strain  of 
blood  quoted  as  the  "  Harewood  Setters."  Of  the  merits 
or  alleged  origin  of  these  dogs  I  know  nothing.  But  if 
they  are  attributed  to  the  noble  Yorkshire  family  of  that 
title,  I  fancy  there  is  either  some  error,  or  that  the  strain 
is  very  recent.  I  have  known  the  late  and  the  present 
Earls  of  Harewood  from  my  childhood ;  I  lived  within  six 
miles  of  their  seat  of  the  same  name,  and  hunted  regularly 
for  many  seasons  with  the  late  Earl's  foxhounds ;  I  can, 
therefore,  assert  without  the  possibility  of  error,  that  up  to 
my  leaving  England  they  had  no  distinctive  strain  of  set- 
ter blood,  but  often  used  our  Irish  strain,  of  which  I  have 


THE    SETTER. 


187 


spoken.  They  may,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  have 
gotten  up  a  distinct  family,  but  the  time  is  short  wherein 
for  a  breed  to  win  a  celebrated  name — and  as  Lord  Eldon 
said —  "  I  doubt." 


THE    POINTER. 


THIS  dog,  which  it  may  be  admitted,  whatever  its  intrin- 
sic or  comparative  merits,  is  the  most  suitable,  for  many 
reasons,  to  the  use  of  the  young  sportsman,  is  not,  at  least 
in  its  present  form,  an  original  or  natural  animal. 

This  is  the  more  worthy  of  remark,  because  many 
modern  writers,  those  more  particularly  who  are  opposed 
to  the  setter,  have  endeavored  to  discredit  the  latter  by 
overlauding  its  rival,  as  if  the  pointer  were  the  type,  and 
the  setter  an  offshoot  produced  from  it,  by  some  process 
of  crossing. 

So  far,  however,  is  this  from  being  true,  that  .the 
pointer  is  itself  a  manufactured  subvariety,  although  now 
so  well  established,  that  it  appears  capable  of  reproduction, 
like  for  like,  even  to  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  indi- 


THE    POINTER.  189 

vidual  families,  almost  ad  infinitum  /  whereas,  as  we  have 
seen  above,  the  setter,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained  by  any 
investigation,  is  the  natural,  aboriginal,  spaniel  stock  im- 
proved by  care  and  culture,  but  not  by  inter-breeding. 

The  type  of  this  dog  is  unquestionably,  in  the  British 
isles,  and  the  countries  which  have  been  thence  supplied, 
the  Spanish  pointer;  but  how  that  variety  of  the  genus 
arose,  by  what  crossing  it  was  produced,  or  when  it  was 
first  known,  is  now  beyond  ascertaining. 

It  was  first  introduced  into  England  when  the  art  of 
shooting  on  the  wing  began  to  be  general,  replacing  the 
old  sport  of  netting  birds,  for  which  the  mute  spaniel, 
taught  to  set,  since  that  time  improved  into  the  modern 
setter,  had  been  used.  Its  erect  position  while  in  the  act 
of  pointing,  and  its  lower  and  more  careful  style  of  rang- 
ing, as  well  as  its  superior  steadiness,  were  the  qualities 
which,  on  its  first  introduction,  caused  the  preference  to  be 
given  to  it  for  open  shooting;  and  such  are,  with  justice, 
the  superior  excellencies  still  attributed  to  it,  by  those 
who  prefer  it  to  its  rival,  the  setter. 

In  form,  structure  and  general  appearance,  the  pointer 
would  appear  to  be  an  intermediate  link  between  the 
spaniel,  the  smooth-haired  hound,  and  perhaps  the  fero- 
cious dog  of  the  bull  type — the  structure  of  the  head,  the 
cerebral  development,  and  the  olfactory  apparatus  clearly 
connecting  him  with  the  former  species,  his  coat,  his  general 
shape,  and  his  fine  stern  pointing  to  the  gaze-hounds,  and 
his  heavy  jowl,  pendulous  lips,  broad  chest,  and  crooked 
fore  legs,  assimilating  him  to  the  pugnacious  varieties. 

The  old  Spanish  pointer  is  now  almost  extinct  in  Eng- 


190  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

land  and  America,  and  deservedly  so ;  for,  although  his 
admirable  powers  of  scent,  not  surpassed  by  those  of  any 
animal,  and  his  great  tractability,  are  undeniable  points  in 
his  favor,  he  is  an  ungainly,  misshapen  creature,  a  slow- 
traveller,  an  awkward  mover;  and,  though  large-limbed, 
strongly-boned,  and  to  an  unpractised  eye  powerfully  made, 
is  for  the  most  part  so  ill  put  together  and  slackly  coupled, 
that  he  is  incapable  of  long  and  severe  work,  except  at  a 
foot's  pace. 

The  improved  English  pointer,  which  is  the  dog  gen- 
erally in  use  under  the  name  of  pointer,  is  a  cross  of  the 
original  Spanish  dog  with  the  fox-hound,  or  the  greyhound, 
or  both — the  union  of  the  two  affording  probably  the  best 
existing  form.  There  are  now  numerous  subvarieties,  in 
the  shape  of  distinct  families,  raised  and  maintained  by 
different  amateurs  in  the  British  Islands  and  elsewhere, 
recognized  apart  by  particular  characteristics  of  form, 
color,  and  style;  which  characteristic  peculiarities  they 
transmit  with  the  blood,  all  springing  from  some  cross  of 
the  Spanish  dog  with  some  of  the  other  strains  indicated 
above,  yet  sufficiently  remote  from  the  original  stock  to 
allow  of  inter-breeding,  without  any  danger  of  deteriora- 
tion from  in-breeding,  as  it  is  termed,  or  incestuous  breed- 
ing, so  as  to  obviate  all  necessity  of  farther  intermixture 
of  foreign  blood,  as  of  the  various  hounds  mentioned  above. 

Of  these  English  varieties,  some  are  nearly  as  coarse, 
heavy-shouldered,  and  slow  as  the  old  Spanish  pointers ; 
some  are  almost  as  slender,  thin-flanked,  and  whip-sterned 
as  the  greyhound ;  and  some  with  deeply  feathered  sterns 
and  sharp  noses,  showing  a  strong  cross  of  the  fox-hound. 


THE   POINTER.  191 

The  first  of  these  varieties  is  faulty,  for  the  same 
reason  as  the  old  Spanish  dog ;  they  do  not  get  over  the 
ground  with  sufficient  rapidity  to  allow  of  a  reasonable 
bag  being  made  in  reasonable  time ;  they  are  apt  to  knock 
up,  owing  to  their  weight  and  faulty  structure,  and  they 
are  painfully  ugly  to  behold. 

The  second  fails  from  the  natural  consequences  of  over 
delicacy ;  his  coat  is  too  fine,  he  cannot  endure  cold  or  wet, 
he  cannot  face  the  lightest  covert,  he  cannot  do  half  a 
day's  work  in  proper  form.  If  hunted  alone,  he  will  find 
little  or  no  game,  if  in  company  with  other  dogs,  he  will  do 
the  backing  to  their  pointing,  but  no  more.  He  is  a  suffi- 
ciently worthless  dog  any  where,  but  in  America  particu- 
larly worthless,  because  particularly  unfit  for  those  very 
specialities  of  work  which  he  should  be  particularly  fitted 
to  perform — covert-shooting  and  snipe-shooting.  For  the 
former  of  these  purposes  the  pointer  is,  I  may  say,  never 
used  in  the  British  Isles;  for  the  latter,  when  old  and 
steady,  he  is  generally  preferred. 

The  third  variety  is  liable  to  two  objections ;  he  is  apt 
to  stoop  too  much,  and  puzzle  for  his  scent  on  the  ground, 
hound-fashion,  instead  of  drawing  handsomely  with  his  head 
high ;  and  he  is  inclined  to  run  in  and  chase,  especially 
on  hares  and  rabbits,  from  which  vice  it  is  frequently  very 
difficult  to  break  him. 

The  best  form  of  the  pointer  is  the  medium  between 
the  first  two  varieties ;  and  a  dog  of  this  kind,  of  the 
proper  shape  and  style,  well  bred,  well  broken,  and  well 
hunted,  will  be  found  to  do  his  work  for  courage,  stout- 
ness, scent,  and  endurance  of  heat  and  thirst,  as  well  as,  if 


192  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

not  better  than,  any  other  variety  of  dog  that  is  used  in 
the  field. 

For  docility,  tractability,  and  tenacity  of  memory, 
never  forgetting  what  has  been  once  thoroughly  taught 
him,  he  is  undoubtedly  superior  to  all  dogs ;  and,  on  this 
account,  he  is  to  be  recommended  for  all  beginners,  for  all 
occasional  shooters,  who  have  small  opportunity  for  keep- 
ing their  dogs  in  constant  practice,  and  for  all  persons,  in 
general,  who  are  averse  to  extra  trouble,  and  who,  for  the 
sake  of  having  every  thing  to  go  on  smoothly  and  in  even 
tenor,  are  willing  to  sacrifice  something  of  dash,  spirit, 
style  and  show. 

The  weak  points  of  this  dog,  I  have  touched  upon 
before ;  they  are — want  of  endurance  of  cold  and  wet ; 
which  may  be  set  off  against  their  greater  endurance  of 
heat  and  thirst ;  inferior  dash,  impetus  and  ability — not 
courage — to  face  severe,  thorny  covert ;  which  may  be  set 
off  against  superior  docility,  tractability  and  steadiness ; 
and,  lastly,  somewhat  inferior  speed  and  stoutness,  and 
decidedly  inferior  beauty,  sociability,  and  affection  to  the 
individual  who  hunts  them. 

For  the  young  shooter,  however,  this  latter  inferiority 
is,  perhaps,  in  some  sort  an  advantage.  * 

The  pointer  is  more  apt  to  hunt  willingly  for  anybody 
who  carries  a  gun,  whether  he  know  him,  or  not;  and 
hunts  more  after  his  own  fashion,  with  less  interference 
from,  or  reference  to,  the  shooter ;  nor  is  he  so  apt  to  take 
offence  at  the  failure  of  his  companion  to  kill  the  game 
which  he  has  found  for  him,  a  habit  which  setters,  espe- 


THE   POINTER.  193 

cially  such  as  have  been  much  shot  over  by  sure  killers, 
often  acquire  and  carry  to  a  ludicrous  extent. 

The  true  form  of  the  very  best  kind  of  English 
pointer  is  so  well  laid  down  by  "  Stonehenge  "  in  his 
"  British  Rural  Sports,"  that  I  cannot  do  better  than  to 
quote  the  passage  entire. 

"  The  points  by  which  these  dogs  are  generally  chosen, 
are — First,  the  form  of  the  head,  which  should  be  wide, 
yet  flat  and  square,  with  a  broad  nose,  pendulous  lip  and 
a  square  Up  /  the  pointed  tip  indicating  too  great  a  cross 
of  the  foxhound  or  greyhound.  Secondly,  a  good  set  of 
logs  and  feet,  the  former  strait  and  bony,  and  well  set  on 
at  the  shoulder,  and  the  latter  round  and  the  pads  hard 
and  horny.  Thirdly,  a  strong  loin  and  good  general  devel- 
opment, with  sloping  shoulders.  Fourthly,  a  fine  stern, 
small  in  the  bone  and  sharp  at  the  point,  like  the  sting  of 
a  wasp,  and  not  curved  upward.  This  form  of  stern,  with 
a  vigorous  lashing  of  it  from  side  to  side,  marks  the  true- 
bred  pointer  as  much  as  any  sign  can  do ;  and  its  absence 
distinguishes  the  foxhound  cross,  which  gives  a  very  hairy 
stern,  with  a  strong  curve  upward  and  carried  over  the 
back ;  or  the  too  great  amount  of  greyhound  blood, 
marked  by  a  small  stern  also,  but  by  one  whose  diminution 
commences  from  the  very  root ;  while  the  genuine  pointer's 
is  nearly  of  the  same  size,  till  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
point,  when  it  suddenly  tapers  off.  Great  injury  has  often 
been  done  by  breeding  in-and-in  for  many  generations  of 
pointers.  A  sportsman  begins  life  by  obtaining  a  brace 
which  do  their  work  to  perfection,  and  he  is  the  admiration 
and  envy  of  all  his  sporting  friends  as  long  as  they  last, 
9 


194  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

which  may  be,  perhaps,  five  or  six  years.  From  these  he 
breeds  others,  which  also  maintain  his  fame ;  and  he  ex- 
pects to  be  able  to  continue  the  same  plan  with  the  same 
blood  for  fifty,  or  in  some  cases,  sixty  years.  He  is  so 
wedded  to  it  that  he  fears  any  admixture,  and  for  two  or 
three  litters  he  does  not  require  it ;  but  at  last  he  finds 
that  though  his  puppies  are  easily  broken  to  back  and 
stand,  they  are  small,  delicate,  and  easily  knocked  up,  and 
are  mere  playthings  in  the  field." 

Than  these  remarks,  as  to  the  points  and  formation  of 
the  pointer,  I  can  add  nothing.  As  I  have  before  ob- 
served of  the  setter,  of  this  dog  also  the  medium  size  is 
preferable.  It  is  more  easily  conveyed  from  place  to 
place,  whether  in  wagon,  boat,  or  railroad  car,  and,  if 
strongly  built  and  well  put  together,  will  stand  more  work 
than  a  heavy,  oversized  animal. 

As  to  setters,  again,  and  horses,  so  of  pointers,  it  may 
be  said  that  good  animals  are  always  of  good  colors ;  still 
there  is  a  choice,  and  for  reasons  apart  from  real  fancy  or 
love  of  beauty. 

Colors  more  or  less  indicate  races,  and  the  prevalence 
of  some  colors,  therefore,  indicate  more  or  less  admix- 
tures of  blood  to  be  avoided,  or  sought  after,  as  it  may  be. 

The  pure  original  pointer  colors,  as  drawn  from  the 
original  Spanish  stock,  are  plain  unmixed  liver  color,  and 
deep  tawny,  darker  across  the  shoulders  than  elsewhere. 

Both  of  these,  therefore,  going  with  the  thorough 
pointer  shape,  are  undeniable. 

To  liver  and  white,  with  a  liver-colored  nose,  there  is 
no  possible  objection  as  to  genuineness,  while  the  light 


THE   POINTER.  195 

tint  is  favorable  as  far  more  easily  seen  in  thick  autumnal 
covert,  than  the  self-color,  which  greatly  assimilates  to 
the  dead  leaf. 

Lemon  and  white,  orange  and  white,  tawny  and  white, 
particularly  if  coupled  with  a  black  nose  and  lips,  are,  in 
my  judgment,  highly  objectionable,  a.s  indicating  a  cross  of 
setter,  which  I  abominate  in  the  pointer. 

Pure  white  is  rare,  but  unobjectionable ;  plain  jet- 
black  is  also  faultless ;  but  where  the  black  and  white  are 
joined,  I  suspect  foxhound  blood ;  and  if  to  these  be  added 
the  smallest  dash  of  tan,  whether  in  the  shape  of  eye- 
spots,  muzzles,  or  feet,  I  am  sure  of  it. 

Tan  eye-spots  are  sometimes  seen  in  plain  black  dogs ; 
and  there  is  a  famous  but  rare  English  family  so  charac- 
terized; and  if  there  be  no  white  whatever,  I  should  re- 
joice in  the  possession  of  a  pointer  so  colored. 

So  also  in  liver,  and  liver  and  white  dogs,  are  tan  eye- 
spots  found  and  regarded  as  beauties,  rather  than  defects. 
Lord  Derby's  excellent  kennel  turns  out  admirable  liver 
and  white  dogs,  so  characterized,  and  of  a  stamp  well 
adapted  to  American  shooting,  as  possessing  perfectly  pure 
blood,  and  quite  sufficiently  high  and  fine  a  strain,  with- 
out over  delicacy  of  coat,  and  with  sufficient  stoutness  for 
rough  work. 

There  is  little  more  to  note  in  reference  to  the  pointer  ; 
but  there  obtains  a  common  error  or  prejudice  in  relation 
to  one  of  his  occasional  characteristics}  which  it  may  be 
as  well  to  refute. 

One  of  the  marks,  so  common  as  to  be  almost  an  in- 
variable characteristic,  of  the  old  Spanish  pointer,  is  what 


196  MANUAL   FOR   TOTING   SPORTSMEN. 

is  commonly  known  as  a  double  nose ;  and,  in  my  opin- 
ion, and  that,  I  believe,  of  most  real  judges  of  the  ani- 
mal, an  exceedingly  ugly  characteristic,  amounting  nearly 
to  a  deformity.  This  double  nose  consists  in  a  deep  cut 
or  furrow  between  the  nostrils,  causing  them  to  a  casual 
observer,  and  on  a  slight  inspection,  to  appear  disunited. 

In  the  French  pointers,  which  are  for  the  most  part 
coarsely-bred,  ill-made  and  worthless  animals,  this  mark, 
owing  to  the  superabundance  in  them  of  Spanish  blood,  is 
general ;  and  it  is  surprising  to  me  that  Mr.  Youatt  should 
describe  it  as  "  materially  interfering  with  their  acuteness 
of  smell." 

This,  however,  is  not  the  error  which  I  propose  here 
to  correct,  but  the  converse  of  this;  which  I  have  found, 
in  all  countries,  particularly  among  uneducated  or  partially 
educated  sportsmen,  to  be  a  prevalent  idea — that  this 
double  nose  is  an  indication  of,  and  as  it  were  a  guarantee 
for,  the  existence  of  an  unusually  good  nose  in  the  animal 
so  marked.  This  external  furrow  can,  I  conceive — and  I 
am  borne  out  in  my  opinion  by  the  judgment  of  Dr.  Lewis 
of  Philadelphia,  celebrated  alike  for  his  medical  and 
sportsmanly  abilities — have  no  effect  or  influence  one  way 
or  other  on  the  scenting  capabilities  of  the  animal,  being 
wholly  unconnected  with  the  internal  olfactory  apparatus. 

How  the  idea  should  have  originated,  it  is  simple 
enough  to  see — the  old  Spanish  pointer  is,  beyond  dispute, 
an  animal  of  superior  powers  of  scent,  and  he  is  often 
double-nosed.  Hence  came  the  superstition  that  the  supe- 
rior scent  is  due  to  the  ugly  furrow  between  the  nostrils, 
though  it  might  have  been  as  well  ascribed  to  the  slack 


THE   POINTER.  197 

loin,  or  thick  club  tail,  which  are  equally  characteristic  of 
the  breed. 

So  well  established  is  this  creed  in  my  part  of  the 
country,  that  a  neighbor  of  mine  told  me  the  other  day, 
with  great  glee  and  exultation,  that  he  had  got  a  double- 
nosed  setter,  the  only  one  of  that  kind  he  had  ever  seen, 
though  he  had  seen  many  pointers  such. 

He  was  urgent  to  know  whether  I  had  ever  seen  a 
double-nosed  setter,  and  was  not  a  little  astonished  when  I 
replied  that  I  never  had,  and  sincerely  hoped  I  never 
should  ;  for  that,  while  in  a  pointer  it  is  simply  a  deform- 
ity, of  no  actual  consequence,  in  a  setter  it  is  a  certain 
indication  of  a  cross  of  Spanish  pointer  blood  ;  about  the 
worst  cross  imaginable. 

It  may  be  added,  that  the  Spanish  pointer  is  not 
unfrequently  ill-tempered  and  surly. 

Of  the  action  of  pointers  in  the  field,  whereby  to  judge 
of  them,  I  shall  speak  hereafter,  under  the  head  of  Field 
Management. 


THE  COCKING  SPANIEL. 

THE  best  of  all  dogs,  beyond  a  question,  for  woodcpck 
shooting  exclusively,  particularly  in  the  summer  season, 
or  even  for  autumn  shooting  in  covert,  is  the  spaniel.  It 
is  little  known  as  yet  in  this  country ;  and  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  procure  them,  either  purely  bred  or  thoroughly 
broken,  and  unless  they  be  both,  no  animal  is  more  worth- 
less. 

In   England,  they  are  used   entirely   for   all   covert 
shooting,  where  dogs  are  employed  at  all,  which  is  not  the 


THE   COCKING   SPANIEL.  199 

case  in  battues ;  the  game,  in  these,  as  I  must  consider 
them,  unsportsmanlike  butcheries,  being  driven  up  by 
beaters.  The  reason  of  this  preference  of  the  spaniel  is 
twofold.  First,  he  does  the  work  better  than  the  pointer 
or  setter  can  do  it ;  secondly,  it  is  an  injury  to  the  latter 
species  to  inure  them  to  this  sort  of  work,  which  is  not 
suited  to  their  habits,  instincts,  or  style  of  hunting. 

Those  dogs  are  naturally  endowed  with  great  range 
and  speed  of  foot,  and  ought,  if  high  bred  and  endowed 
with  good  noses,  to  stand  their  birds  steadily  at  long 
distances. 

These  are  the  points  and  excellences  of  fine  setters  or 
pointers ;  the  proper  stage  for  which  is,  in  England,  the 
moors,  or  the  open  partridge  stubbles  and  turnip  fields  ; 
here  the  prairies,  for  grouse,  the  open  stubbles  for  quail, 
and  the  snipe  marshes. 

If  they  be  duly  qualified  to  hunt  these  grounds  in  style, 
and  to  find  their  game  fast  and  well  in  such  situations, 
they  will,  in  covert,  range  entirely  out  of  shot,  will  proba- 
bly overrun  and  put  up  many  birds,  quite  beyond  the 
shooter's  range,  or,  coming  to  a  dead  point,  at  a  quarter  of 
a  mile's  distance,  with  heaven  knows  how  much  brush  and 
brier  intervening,  will  be  missing  half  of  the  time,  or  will 
have,  instead  of  themselves  hunting,  to  be  painfully  hunted 
up  by  their  owner. 

Over  and  above  this,  being  used  to  hunt  under  the 
constant  supervision  of  the  sportsman's  eye,  where  the 
least  error  is  observed  and  the  least  fault  rated,  finding 
themselves  under  less  restraint  in  covert,  they  are  apt  to 
become  careless  and  to  run  riot.  To  this  habit  they  are 


200  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

more  particularly  led  by  two  causes,  both  of  which  must 
often  occur  in  shooting  in  heavy  coverts,  especially  in  sum- 
mer, when  the  leaf  is  full — first,  that  frequently  coming  on 
points  unobserved  by  the  shooter,  who  has  lost  and  cannot 
find  them,  they  are  kept  standing  such  a  weary  time,  on 
the  game,  that  they  become  impatient,  flush  it  wilfully,  and 
come  away  unchidden,  because  unremarked. 

Second,  that  the  shooter  himself,  instead  of  himself 
walking  or  beating  up  his  game  over  the  point,  as  he  ought 
to  do,  too  often,  for  the  sake  of  securing  a  shot  which, 
from  the  badness  of  ground  or  thickness  of  the  brake,  he 
would  otherwise  be  apt  to  lose,  hies  the  dog  on,  and 
encourages  him  to  flush,  at  one  moment,  probably  punish- 
ing him  for  doing  the  very  same  thing,  some  twenty 
minutes  later. 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  pointers  or  setters,  when  in  the 
very  best  possible  training  and  condition  for  open  shooting, 
which  is  their  natural  work  as  well  as  their  forte,  are  not 
suited  for  covert  shooting. 

It  is  also  clear  that  covert-shooting  is  likely  to  be 
disadvantageous  to  their  steadiness,  and  to  render  them, 
unless  carefully  and  judiciously  hunted,  wild  and  riotous. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  they  are  thoroughly  broken  and 
inured  to  covert  shooting,  they  get  into  a  slow,  pottering 
style  of  work,  lose  their  range,  their  speed  of  foot,  and  in 
a  great  measure  their  dashing  style  and  carriage. 

Once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime,  one  may  find  a  brace  of 
dogs  so  perfect,  so  steady,  and  so  well  up  to  all  kinds  of 
work,  that  they  will  range  the  opens  at  full  speed,  heads 
up  and  sterns  down,  and  again  when  brought  into  covert 


THE   COCKING   SPANIEL.  201 

beat  every  inch  of  a  ground  at  a  trot,  and  never  stir  out 
of  gunshot  of  the  sportsman ;  but  it  is,  as  I  have  said,  but 
once  or  twice  in  a  lifetime. 

These  are  the  just  reasons,  why  pointers  and  setters 
are  in  England,  rarely,  if  ever,  used  in  woodlands. 

Here  the  case  is  altered,  since  with  the  exception  of 
snipe-shooting  on  the  marshes  and  grouse-shooting  on  the 
prairies,  there  is  in  America  no  distinctly  open  shooting. 
In  the  Northern  States  and  provinces,  especially,  where 
autumn  shooting  is  and  must  ever  be  the  principal  and 
choicest  pursuit  of  the  true  sportsman,  open  shooting  and 
covert  shooting  are  so  inseparably  combined,  from  the 
habits  of  the  birds  pursued,  that  no  line  of  distinction 
can  be  drawn. 

The  quail,  which  is  the  principal  object  of  pursuit, 
must  be  found  and  roused  on  his  feeding  grounds,  in  the 
stubbles,  orchards  or  meadows,  and,  when  once  scattered, 
followed  up  and  killed  in  the  densest  and  heaviest  brakes 
and  coverts. 

To  find  them,  the  greatest  speed  and  the  widest  range 
is  necessary ;  to  finish  up  the  scattered  bevies  in  good  style, 
the  closest  and  most  accurate,  inch  by  inch  ground,  or  foot, 
hunting. 

The  perfection  of  the  thing,  if  means  permitted,  would 
be  of  course  to  drive  the  open  grounds  with  setters  or 
pointers,  and  then,  when  the  game  should  be  driven  into 
covert,  to  couple  up  these,  and  let  loose  spaniels  wherewith 
to  beat  the  brakes  and  thickets. 

This,  however,  would  require  such  a  number  of  dogs 
and  servants  to  be  kept,  so  large  an  expense  and  so  sys- 
9* 


202  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

tematic  a  pursuit  of  the  sport,  with  consequent  expenditure 
of  time  and  attention,  as  few  or  no  American  sportsmen 
are  willing  or  able  to  bestow  on  what  is,  to  most  men,  but 
an  occasional  and  rare  pastime. 

For  the  most  part,  then,  we  must  rest  content  with  our 
setters  or  pointers,  and  must  satisfy  ourselves  with  over- 
coming to  the  best  of  our  abilities  the  difficulties  which 
we  must  encounter. 

Nevertheless,  I  would  strongly  recommend  it  to  such 
sportsmen  as  have  the  means,  the  leisure,  and  the  oppor- 
tunity, to  procure  a  brace  of  good  and  well  broke  cocking 
spaniels,  at  least  for  summer  cock-shooting.  It  is  not 
only  the  true  method,  but  it  is  far  more  exhilarating  and 
exciting,  it  is  less  fatiguing,  and,  as  it  gives  the  sportsman 
far  more  opportunity  of  choosing  his  own  position  for 
shooting  in  the  paths,  runways  and  glades,  instead  of  being 
forced  to  blunder  into  thickets  in  order  to  drive  up  his 
game,  it  is  by  far  the  most  killing  mode. 

The  spaniel  naturally  gives  tongue  on  his  scent  the 
moment  he  strikes  it,  hunts  it  up  with  the  rapidity  of 
light,  and  springs  his  bird  or  starts  his  hare  with  a  rush. 

By  education  he  is  made  to  hunt  mute,  or  at  most  to 
express  his  delight  at  finding  the  hot  scent  streaming  up  to 
his  nostrils  by  a  suppressed  whimper,  to  track  the  game 
foot  by  foot,  pausing  to  note  the  vicinity  and  whereabout 
of  the  shooter,  and  to  give  tongue  only  when  it  is  flushed. 

This  steadiness  and  closeness  of  range  and  of  dropping 
to  charge  the  instant  the  shot  is  fired,  and  lying  hard 
until  ordered  to  "  hie  on  !  "  is  all  that  is  required  of  the 
spaniel ;  but  that  all  is  not  a  little  ;  for  the  spirit  in  the 


THE   COCKING   SPANIEL.  203 

small  bodies  of  these  active  and  indefatigable  little  ani- 
mals is  of  the  most  indomitable,  and  it  requires  steadiness, 
patience,  firmness,  equability  of  temper  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  at  times  severity,  to  break  them  into  disci- 
pline, and  to  keep  them  in  it  when  broken.  But  this  once 
accomplished,  they  are  all  but  perfection. 

"  There  can  scarcely  be  a  prettier  object,"  says  Mr. 
Youatt  in  his  admirable  work  on  the  dog,  "  than  this  little 
creature,  full  of  activity,  and  bustling  in  every  direction, 
with  his  tail  erect ;  and  the  moment  he  scents  the  bird 
expressing  his  delight  by  the  quivering  of  every  limb,  and 
the  low  eager  whimpering  which  the  best  breaking  cannot 
always  subdue.  Presently  the  bird  springs,  and  then  he 
shrieks  out  his  ecstasy,  startling  even  the  sportsman  with 
his  sharp,  shrill,  and  strangely  expressive  bark. 

"  The  most  serious  objection  to  the  use  of  the  cocker 
is  the  difficulty  of  teaching  him  to  distinguish  his  game 
and  confine  himself  within  bounds ;  for  he  will  too  often 
flush  every  thing  that  comes  within  his  reach.  It  is  often 
the  practice  to  attach  bells  to  his  collar,  that  the  sports- 
man may  know  where  he  is ;  " — this  precaution  is  far  more 
necessary  with  the  pointer  in  covert — "  but  there  is  an  in- 
convenience connected  with  this,  that  the  noise  of  the  bells 
will  often  disturb  and  spring  the  game  before  the  dog 
comes  fairly  upon  it. 

"  Patience  and  perseverance,  with  a  due  mixture  of 
kindness  and  correction,  will,  however,  accomplish  a 
great  deal  in  the  tuition  of  the  well-bred  spaniel.  He 
may  at  first  hunt  about  after  every  bird  that  presents 
itself,  or  chase  the  interdicted  game ;  if  he  be  immediate- 


204  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

ly  called  in  and  rated,  or  perhaps  corrected,  but  not  too 
severely,  he  will  learn  his  proper  lesson,  and  recognize  the 
game  to  which  alone  his  attention  must  be  directed.  The 
grand  secret  in  breaking  these  dogs  is  mildness,  mingled 
with  perseverance,  the  lessons  being  enforced,  and  practi- 
cally illustrated  by  the  example  of  an  old  and  steady 
dog." 

"  This  beautiful  and  interesting  dog — "  adds  Dr.  Lewis, 
speaking  of  the  cocker,  in  his  American  Edition  of  Youatt 
— "  so  called  from  his  peculiar  suitableness  for  woodcock 
shooting,  is  but  little  known  among  us,  except  as  a  boudoir 
companion  for  ladies.  He  is,  nevertheless,  extensively 
used  in  England  by  sportsmen  for  finding  this  bird,  as  also 
the  pheasant ;  and  no  doubt,  if  introduced  into  our  coun- 
try, would  prove  equally,  if  not  more  serviceable,  in  put- 
ting up  game  concealed  in  the  thickets  and  marshy  hollows 
of  our  uncleared  ground." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  such  is  the  case.  An  excellent 
and  accomplished  English  sportsman,  Mr.  Joseph  Tarret, 
who  shot  for  many  years  in  New  Jersey  with  great  effect 
and  success,  used  these  dogs  exclusively,  and  few,  if  any 
sportsmen  of  the  day  could  beat  his  bag. 

Dr.  Lewis  states  in  another  passage  that  the  larger 
variety  of  spaniel,  known  as  the  springer,  is  owned  in  the 
greatest  purity  in  the  Carrollton  family,  and  is  also  in 
possession  of  Mr.  Key  worth  of  Washington  City. 

Captain  Peel  of  the  Royals,  late  of  H.  M.  R.  Cana- 
dian rifles,  better  known  to  the  sporting  world  as  "  Dinks  " 
of  Amherstburg,  who  has  been  recently  serving  in  the 
Crimea,  but  may  be  shortly  expected  to  return,  has  a  fine 


THE   COCKING   SPANIEL.  205 

strain  of  this  blood,  which  I  can  earnestly  recommend 
from  my  own  knowledge  and  experience. 

The  three  varieties  of  spaniel  principally  used  in  pur- 
suit of  game  are  the  "  cocker,"  the  "  springer,"  and  the 
"  Clumber  spaniel,"  which  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  in 
all  respects  as  a  sporting  animal. 

The  cocker,  a  likeness  of  which,  adapted  from  a  mag- 
nificent engraving  by  Ansdell,  is  prefixed  to  this  paper,  is 
the  smallest  of  the  three  varieties. 

He  is  seldom  above  twenty  pounds  in  weight,  has  a  short 
blunt  nose,  an  excedingly  full,  soft,  liquid  eye,  and  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  the  King  Charles,  and  Blenheim 
breeds,  with  both  of  which  he  is,  probably,  more  or  less 
connected.  His  color  is  usually  dark  orange  and  white, 
or  lemon  and  white ;  sometimes  black,  white,  and  tan,  or 
plain  black  and  white,  and  yet  more  rarely  black  and  tan. 
This  last  color  is  ascribed  by  Mr.  Youatt  to  an  admixture 
of  terrier  blood  ;  but  I  think  incorrectly.  I  would  attri- 
bute it  wholly  to  the  King  Charles  blood,  with  which  the 
cocker  shows  much  connection,  and  the  most  when  he  is 
of  this  color.  The  snub  nose  and  large  soft  melting  eye 
of  the  cocking  spaniel  is  as  remote  as  possible  from  the 
elongated,  sharp  muzzle,  and  keen  quick  visual  organs  of 
the  terrier. 

"  These  dogs,"  says  Stonehenge,  "  have  very  delicate 
noses,  and  work  well  in  covert  for  a  short  time,  but  are  soon 
knocked  up,  and  cannot  compete  in  endurance  with  either 
the  springer,  or  the  old  English  spaniel." 

They  are  the  liveliest,  the  prettiest,  and  the  most  active 
of  the  whole  family. 


206  MANUAL  FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

The  springer  is  somewhat  larger,  "  has  a  smaller  eye," 
I  quote  from  the  Manual  of  Rural  Sports,  "  and  a  more 
pointed  nose,  and  with  a  more  impetuous  nature  than  the 
cocker,  requiring  more  coercion  than  he,  and  far  more  than, 
the  Clumber  spaniel.  He  is  generally  of  about  thirty 
pounds  weight,  with  a  party-colored  coat  of  liver  and 
white,  yellow  and  white,  or  black  and  white." 

All  the  varieties  should  be  hung  "  with  ears  that  sweep 
away  the  morning  dew,"  should  have  coats  long,  soft, 
waving — not  curled,  except  about  the  ears — and  glistering 
as  floss  silk.  Their  tails  should  be  short,  stout,  and,  like 
their  legs,  deeply  and  densely  feathered. 

The  Clumber  spaniel  is  a  stouter,  shorter-legged, 
rougher-coated  dog,  with  a  broad  nose.  "  In  him,"  con- 
tinues Stonehenge,  "  there  is  the  full  development  of  brain 
and  of  the  cavities  of  the  nose,  which  gives  the  power  of 
smelling  with  the  greatest  nicety,  and  also  that  of  dis- 
criminating scents ;  thus  the  true  Clumber  spaniel  will 
distinguish  readily  the  foot-scent  of  the  pheasant  from  the 
cock,  and  will  throw  his  tongue  differently ;  and  they  may 
readily  be  kept  to  either,  or  allowed  to  hunt  both,  accord- 
ing to  the  fancy  of  their  masters.  In  size  these  dogs  are 
about  thirty-five  or  forty  pounds — generally  of  a  liver 
color,  with  very  large  heads,  long  ears,  and  broad  noses ; 
bodies  low,  long  and  strong,  covered  with  long  hair,  not 
very  curly  but  with  a  strong  wave,  legs  very  straight  and 
strong,  with  good  feet.  They  also  have  great  powers  of 
endurance,  but  are  not  fast,  and  are  on  that  account  well 
suited  to  covert-shooting.  Their  note  is  deep  and  musical, 
and  they  are  under  very  good  command,  when  well  broken. 


THE   COCKING    SPANIEL.  207 

Numberless  breeds,  somewhat  resembling  the  Clumber,  are 
met  with  throughout  England,  and  of  all  colors  and  almost 
all  forms,  commonly  called  old  English  spaniels.  Most 
of  them  have  nearly  the  same  kind  of  developments, 
though  few  come  up  to  him  in  all  the  qualities  here  enu- 
merated ;  there  is  generally  too  fast  a  style  of  hunting,  or- 
too  little  courage,  or  a  want  of  steadiness,  or  some  defi- 
ciency or  other." 

In  another  part  of  the  same  volume,  this  able  and  dis^ 
criminating  writer  says  of  this  dog — "  The  Clumber  span* 
iel  is  the  best  I  have  ever  seen,  being  hardy  and  capable 
of  braving  wet  with  impunity.  His  nose  is  also  wonder- 
fully good,  which  its  full  development  in  point  of  size 
would  lead  one  to  expect.  They  are  bred  so  much  for 
hunting  cock  that  they  own  the  scent  very  readily,  and 
seem  to  delight  and  revel  in  it,  giving  generally  a  very 
joyous  note  on  touching  upon  their  trail.  The  true 
Clumber  may  be  easily  kept  to  feather,  and  though  they 
will  readily  hunt  fur  when  nothing  else  is  to  be  had,  they 
do  not  prefer  it,  as  most  other  dogs  do." 

The  Clumber  breed  is  that,  which  I  have  mentioned 
above,  as  owned  in  great  purity  by  Captain  Peel,  and  is 
the  dog  which  I  would  especially  recommend  to  all 
sportsmen,  young  or  old,  for  July  cock-shooting. 

I  am  well  satisfied  that  over  two  or  three  of  these  un- 
wearied and  dauntless  dogs,  which,  where  water  is  plenty, 
would  work  willingly  from  dawn  till  sunset  of  a  July 
day,  a  good  shot  could  double  his  bag  with  one  half  the 
walking  and  labor  he  would  be  obliged  to  exert  over 
setters  or  pointers. 


208  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

It  is  true,  that  they  require  constant  attention,  firm- 
ness, steadiness  and  temper ;  but  so  do  all  dogs.  These, 
I  think,  not  more  than  most  others,  excepting  always  the 
steady  pointer,  certainly  less  than  the  headstrong  and 
fierce  Irish  setter. 

Moreover,  the  attention  of  the  sportsman  is  at  all 
events  required  to  fewer  points.  To  hunt  close  and  mute, 
and  to  drop  to  shot  is  all  that  he  has  to  ask,  and,  if  asked 
becomingly,  he  will  not  be  disappointed. 

To  conclude,  no  one,  I  believe,  who  has  ever  shot  cock 
in  a  wet  July  brake  of  alders,  or  what  is  worse,  in  the 
ravine  of  a  Maryland  branch,  over  Clumber  spaniels,  will 
ever  voluntarily  return  to  the  setter  or  the  pointer,  how- 
ever pre-eminently  superior  at  their  own  work,  and  over 
their  own  line  of  country. 


THE  WATEK-SPAKIEL. 

THIS  beautiful,  sagacious,  and  useful  species,  like  the 
varieties  last  described,  is  not  so  general  in  this  country, 
as  he  deserves  to  be,  the  rather  that  many  districts  inland, 
to  the  westward  and  southward  more  especially,  are  singu- 
larly adapted  to  his  use. 

A  portion  of  his  blood  is  not  unfrequently  to  be 
found  in  imperfectly  bred  setters,  and  although  it  unques- 
tionably detracts  from  the  value  of  the  animal  as  a  pure- 


210  MANUAL   FOE   YOTJNG   SPORTSMEN. 

bred  species,  it  is  the  least  objectionable  of  all  the 
crosses.  It  does  not  produce  obstinacy  and  inferior  saga- 
city, as  is,  I  think,  usually  the  case  with  the  pointer  cross ; 
nor  headstrong  wildness,  evincing  itself  in  an  uncontrol- 
lable desire  to  chase  fur,  which  is  the  consequence  of  a 
foxhound  admixture.  It  generally  shows  itself  in  an  in- 
creased degree  of  curliness  in  the  hair,  particularly  about 
the  poll  and  ears,  the  latter  being  also  larger,  longer,  and 
far  more  fleecily  covered  in  the  pure  setter.  The  quali- 
ties which  this  variety  seems  to  give,  are  great  readiness 
and  facility  in  retrieving,  and  superior  fondness  for  the 
water.  Neither  of  which  points  are  detrimental,  but 
rather  the  reverse,  to  the  setter.  The  very  best  setter  I 
ever  owned,  whose  pedigree  I  do  not  know,  showed  strong 
indications  of  a  remote  water-spaniel  cross  in  his  hair  and 
color,  though  in  form  and  habits  he  was  a  perfect  setter. 
I  never  saw  so  good  a  retriever,  nor  a  steadier  or  stancher 
dog,  though  I  have  seen  hundreds  fleeter.  One  thing  is 
certain ;  water-spaniel  blood  does  not  produce  riot,  since 
the  dog  is  eminently  docile. 

I  approve  of  no  cross-breeding  in  dogs  of  established 
races ;  yet  if  I  had  a  family  of  fine  setters,  which  in  the 
course  of  years  had  become  too  nearly  connected  from 
want  of  intermixture  of  some  other  pure  but  distinct  set- 
ter blood,  and  none  such  were  attainable,  I  would  not 
hesitate  to  use  one  cross  of  water-spaniel,  and  should  not 
doubt  of  improving  the  stock  in  the  second  generation 
from  the  admixture. 

"  Of  this  breed,"  says  Mr.  Youatt,  "  there  are  two 
varieties,  a  larger  and  a  smaller,  both  useful  according  to 


THE    WATER    SPANIEL.  211 

the  degree  of  range  or  the  work  required ;  the  smaller, 
however,  being  ordinarily  preferable." — In  this  point  I  do 
not  agree  with  Mr.  Youatt.  The  larger  dog  is,  to  my 
taste,  the  purer  bred,  the  lesser  being  often  interbred 
with  the  land-spaniel,  and  for  American  shooting  in  par- 
ticular, far  superior.  "  Whatever  be  his  general  size, 
strength  and  compactness  of  form  are  requisite.  His 
head  is  long,  his  face  smooth,  and  his  limbs,  more  devel- 
oped than  those  of  the  springer,  should  be  muscular,  his 
carcass  round,  and  his  hair  long  and  closely  curled." 

In  the  best  and  purest  breeds,  while  the  face  itself  is 
perfectly  smooth,  the  poll,  the  ears,  and  the  sides  of  the 
neck  are  clothed  so  densely  with  long,  soft,  silky,  curled 
hair,  that  the  countenance  appears  to  be  set  in  an  Eliza- 
bethan ruff,  and  the  ears  are  absolutely  ringletted.  The 
only  true  colors  of  this  dog  are  liver  or  liver  and  white. 
Any  others  indicate  mixtures  of  foreign  blood. 

"  Good  breaking,"  Mr.  Youatt  continues,  "  is  more 
necessary  here  than  even  with  the  land-spaniel,  and  for- 
tunately it  is  more  easily  accomplished ;  for  the  water- 
spaniel,  although  a  stouter,  is  a  more  docile  animal  than 
the  land  one. 

"  Docility  and  affection  are  stamped  on  his  counte- 
nance, and  he  rivals  every  other  breed  in  his  attachment 
to  his  master.  His  work  is  double ;  first,  to  find  when 
ordered  to  do  so,  and  to  back  behind  the  sportsman  when 
the  game  will  be  more  advantageously  trodden  up.  In 
both  he  must  be  taught  to  be  perfectly  obedient  to  the 
voice,"  or  dog  call,  "  that  he  maybe  kept  within  range,  and 
may  not  unnecessarily  disturb  the  birds.  A  more  impor- 


212  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

tant  part  of  his  duty,  however,  is  to  find  and  bring  the 
game  that  has  dropped.  To  teach  him  to  find  is  easy 
enough,  for  a  young  water-spaniel  will  as  readily  take  to 
the  water,  as  a  pointer  puppy  will  stop ;  but  to  bring  his 
game  without  tearing  it,  is  a  more  difficult  lesson,  and  the 
most  difficult  of  all  is  to  make  him  suspend  the  pursuit  of 
the  wounded  game  while  the  sportsman  reloads." 

He  must,  in  a  few  words,  be  taught  invariably  to  beat 
his  ground,  crossing  and  recrossing  it  in  endless  intersect- 
ing semicircles,  never  beyond  twenty  paces  distant  from 
his  master,  and  to  hunt  mute.  The  latter  being  far  easier 
than  with  the  cocker,  springer,  or  even  the  Clumber  dog, 
since  the  water-spaniel  does  not  give  tongue  so  fiercely  or 
so  instinctively  as  his  land  congener. 

Secondly,  he  must  drop  to  shot,  at  the  report  of  the 
gun,  and  lie  steadily  at  charge,  until  he  be  ordered  to  go 
on,  when  he  will  recover  wounded  birds  with  inconceivable 
cleverness,  following  them  foot  by  foot  through  tussocky 
bogs,  thick  flag  tufts,  and  the  most  closely  tangled  marsh 
grasses,  or  diving  after  them  in  deep  waters,  till  they 
shall  give  out  in  their  own  element,  from  mere  weariness. 

For  wild  fowl  shooting  in  large  inland  lakes  he  is  in- 
valuable, merely  as  a  retriever,  particularly  where  there 
is  much  reed,  wild  rice  or  marsh  grass,  among  which  crip- 
ples will  skulk  so  cunningly  as  to  defy  the  most  accurate 
marker;  but  their  great  forte  is  where  teal,  mallard, 
wood-duck,  pintails,  and  the  other  fresh-water  varieties  fre- 
quent large  flat  grassy  meadows,  intersected  by  small  la- 
goons, creeks  or  rivulets  in  which  they  feed ;  or  still  more, 
where  a  slow  winding  stream,  bordered  with  willows  and 


THE   WATER   SPANIEL.  213 

alder  brakes,  creeps  deviously  between  swampy  banks 
thickset  with  flags  and  sword-grass,  furnishing  the  finest 
and  favorite  feeding  grounds  and  breeding  grounds  for  all 
the  varieties  of  inland  wild  fowl. 

When  the  young  ducks,  flappers  as  they  are  techni- 
cally named,  about  three  parts  grown,  are  able  to  make 
short  flights  only,  with  their  legs  hanging  down  so  as  just 
to  bend  the  tops  of  the  marsh  grass,  or  to  dimple  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  immense  sport  may  be  had  in  proper 
localities,  which  occur  every  where  abundantly  from  the 
western  parts  of  the  State  of  New  York,  through  all  the 
Western  States  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  northern  extremities  of  Lake  Superior. 

Nor  are  the  Southern  States,  with  their  unfrozen 
springheads,  tepid  streams  and  vast  verdurous  lagoons,  in 
this  respect  inferior.  What  could  be  done  in  the  Ever- 
glades of  Florida  by  a  large  party  of  good  sportsmen,  not 
afraid  of  roughing  it,  and  duly  supplied  with  a  proper 
force  of  water-spaniels,  both  in  the  killing  of  game  and 
the  discovering  of  new  species,  is  yet  to  be  proved. 

Should  snipe  or  woodcock  be  found  lying  in  the  same 
localities,  as  is  often  the  case,  they  will  not  escape  the 
infallible  nose  and  unwearied  activity  of  the  water-spaniel, 
nor  will  his  long  yellow  legs  and  broadly  flapping  vans 
secure  the  hermit  heron,  nor  his  clanking  cry  of  defiance 
or  his  sharp-pointed  bill,  fiercely  and  fearlessly  plied,  save 
the  brown  bittern  from  the  mortal  shot-shower. 

In  beating  such  a  stream  as  I  have  described,  the 
shooter  should  walk  some  ten  or  fifteen  paces  wide  of  the 
margin,  not  following  its  sinuosity,  but  proceeding  in  a 


214  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

direct  line  from  bend  to  bend,  while  his  spaniels  should 
follow  the  windings,  working  out  every  bush  and  brake, 
rummaging  all  the  grass  between  the  shooter  and  the 
stream,  and — contrary  to  what  is  required  in  every  other 
kind  of  shooting — hunting  behind  and  not  before,  or  quite 
abreast  of,  the  gun.  By  this  method  the  fowl,  being 
flushed  quietly  by  the  dog,  which  they  seem  often  to  mis- 
take for  a  fox  or  some  other  animal  of  prey,  and  not  hav- 
ing seen  or  suspected  the  vicinity  of  man,  rise  gently,  and 
for  the  most  part  fly  forward  up  or  down  the  course  of  the 
stream,  as  it  may  be,  presenting  a  fair  cross  shot  to  the 
gun.  Should  they,  by  an  unusual  and  unlikely  chance, 
rise  wild  so  as  not  to  afford  a  shot,  it  is  more  than  proba- 
ble that  they  will  again  drop  within  a  reasonable  distance, 
when  being  marked  down,  they  may  be,  in  most  instances, 
stalked,  so  as  to  insure  the  getting  a  close  and  deadly 
shot. 

With  the  green-winged  teal  this  result  is  the  most 
likely  to  occur,  as  that  bird,  if  flushed  by  a  brookside, 
without  discovering  its  arch-enemy,  almost  always  flies 
quick  and  strong  for  some  distance  up  or  down  the  water, 
and  then  darts  down,  like  a  sharp-flying  woodcock,  most 
generally  in  a  sudden  bend  or  angle  of  the  stream,  where 
there  is  covert,  either  of  trees  shadowing  the  stream,  or  of 
bushes  thick  on  the  banks. 

In  this  case  it  is  almost  certain  that  he  will  lie  hard 
the  second  time,  and  allow  of  an  easy  shot. 

Wafer-spaniels,  though,  as  their  name  indicates,  they 
shine  in  pursuit  of  aquatic  fowl,  may  be  broke  to  hunt  for 
the  foot  of  the  various  species  of  American  wood-grouse, 


THE   WATER    SPANIEL.  215 

as  the  ruffed  grouse,  the  spotted  or  spruce  grouse  of 
Canada,  the  red-necked  or  willow  grouse  of  Vermont, 
Maine,  the  British  Provinces  and  Labrador,  in  the  vast 
wooded  wildernesses  where  they  abound,  and  to  chase  them 
when  flushed  to  the  tree,  in  which  they  besiege  them ; 
keeping  them  motionless  by  their  sharp  barking,  by  which 
also  they  inform  the  shooter  of  their  whereabout,  until  he 
can  come  up,  and  knock  them  off  their  perch  by  a  felon 
shot. 

For  this  work,  I  cannot  call  it  sport,  nor  those  who 
pursue  it  sportsmen,  the  smaller  water-spaniel  is  the  animal 
best  adapted.  I  have  seen  a  brace  so  thoroughly  broke, 
and  so  steady,  that  they  were  the  best  dogs  I  ever  shot  over 
for  autumn  snipe-shooting,  but  this  is  rarely  the  case. 

Where,  however,  much  inland  duck-shooting  is  to  be 
had  on  ground  where  snipe  and  perhaps  woodcock  also 
feed — and  there  is  much  ground  of  that  nature  in  Amer- 
ica— no  dogs  can  compete  them,  as  they  combine  great 
powers  of  finding  game,  with  vast  endurance,  steadiness 
sufficient  to  enable  them  to  be  shot  over  satisfactorily — 
though  not  that  of  the  perfect  pointer  or  setter — accompa- 
nied by  an  ability  to  recover  wounded  wild  fowl  to  a  degree 
possessed  by  no  other  animal,  and  without  which  it«js  use- 
less to  think  of  making  a  bag  of  wild  fowl  on  inland 
waters. 


THE  NEWFOUNDLAND  KETRIEVER. 

THE  hist  dog  with  which  we  had  to  do,  is  the  last  of  those 
which  are  to  be  mentioned  as  employed  for  the  finding 
their  game  alive,  and  recovering  it  when  killed,  but  which 
have  no  share  in  pursuing  or  killing  it. 

These  are  the  dogs  principally  used  by  the  shooter, 
and  on  them  he  relies,  in  a  degree  second  only  to  his  use 
of  the  gun,  for  all  his  sport  in  the  field  and  the  upland  as 
against  winged  game. 


THE   NEWFOUNDLAND    KETEIEVER.  217 

Those  which  remain  worthy  of  note,  are  the  retriever 
proper,  which  fetches  in  the  dead  or  crippled  game,  having 
had  no  share  in  finding  him,  and  the  various  species  of 
hounds,  which  are  employed  in  the  finding,  taking,  and 
killing  of  large  game  such  as  deer,  elk,  bear,  and,  perhaps, 
one  or  two  casual  species,  not  often  encountered  even  in 
the  wildest  parts  of  the  country,  and  which  may  be  held 
to  belong  to  hunting,  as  distinct  from  shooting,  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  terms ;  though,  as  I  have  observed 
before,  the  distinction  is  much  narrowed  in  America 
between  the  two  sports,  owing  to  the  association  of  the 
shot  gun  or  rifle  with  the  horse  and  hound. 

In  America  the  retriever  proper  is  used  only  in  one 
part  of  the  country,  the  vicinity  of  Chesapeake  Bay  and 
the  rivers  of  that  region,  which  constitute  the  shooting 
grounds  of  the  canvas-back. 

In  the  British  isles  pointers  and  setters  are  not  usually 
broke  to  fetch,  as  it  is  supposed  to  detract  from  their 
steadiness,  and  render  them  likely  to  break  in.  For  the 
moors,  therefore,  and  for  pheasant-shooting  in  covert,  re- 
trievers are  employed,  especially  broken  to  the  purpose, 
which  take  no  notice  of  live  game,  make  no  effort  to  hunt 
or  flush  it,  but,  so  soon  as  it  falls — and  notice  is  given  to 
them  to  go  on  and  find — will  follow  the  foot  of  the  identi- 
cal wounded  or  wing-broken  bird,  through  a  preserve 
overflowing  with  unwounded  game  of  the  same  species, 
without  troubling  or  disturbing  any  of  them;  and  will 
ultimately  recover  and  bring  him  to  bag,  while  the 
sportsman  is  in  pursuit  of  other  victims,  far  away  with  his 
pointers  or  his  beaters. 
10 


218  MANUAL   FOR   TOTING    SPOKTSMEN. 

Of  this  species  of  dog,  or  way  of  using  it,  there  is  no 
trace  on  the  uplands  of  America,  or  elsewhere,  save  on 
the  salt  waters  of  the  estuaries  and  tide  rivers,  whose  half- 
frozen  waters  swarm  in  winter  with  myriads  of  the  choicest 
wild  fowl,  the  canvas-back,  the  red-head,  the  scaup,  or 
broadbill,  as  it  is  commonly  called  by  American  gunners, 
and  the  widgeon,  or  baldpate,  not  to  enumerate  wild  geese, 
brant,  and  the  king  of  waterfowl,  the  superb,  incomparable 
swan. 

The  usual,  and  among  gentlemen  sportsmen,  who  shoot 
for  pleasure,  not  for  base  profit,  the  only  legitimate  way  of 
shooting  these  delicious  wild-fowl,  is  by  lying  in  ambush 
for  them  behind  screens  or  blinds  of  rushes  made  for  the 
purpose,  on  points  of  islands,  headlands,  river  mouths  and 
the  like,  over  which  the  fowl  fly,  in  going  to  or  returning 
from  their  feeding  grounds,  when  they  may  be  shot,  by 
clever  gunners,  with  heavy  pieces  and  large  shot,  at  great 
ranges  and  with  great  sport. 

To  shoot  from  batteries  moored  on  their  feeding 
grounds,  and  still  more  to  sail  in  upon  them  when  feed- 
ing, is  properly  discountenanced  and  esteemed  unsports- 
manlike and  infamous,  since  it  causes  the  birds,  which  will 
not  endure  to  be  disturbed  and  slaughtered  while  on  iheir 
feed,  to  collect  into  great  flocks,  soar  up  into  the  air,  and 
entirely  abandon  the  places  where  they  are  thus  perse- 
cuted. 

The  flocks  of  ducks  are,  it  is  true,  at  times  toled.  in, 
as  it  is  called,  by  the  assistance  of  small  curs,  trained  to 
play,  running  to  and  fro  along  the  margin  of  the  rivers, 
where  th§  ducks  are  swimming  or  feeding,  when,  strange 


THE    NEWFOUNDLAND   EETKIEVER.  219 

to  say,  the  wild-fowl  are  instigated  by  some  sort  of  insane 
curiosity  to  sail  up  close  to  the  hidden  fowler,  and,  after 
being  shot  at  again  and  again,  still  to  rush  on  their  fate, 
without  aim  or  object,  in  pursuit  of  the  cur  or  mongrel 
water-spaniel  which  is  trained  thus  to  inveigle  them. 

This  animal,  however,  is  a  mere  cur,  and  the  extent  of 
his  discipline  and  training  is  limited  to  running  back- 
ward and  forward  after  sticks  or  stones,  cast  from  behind 
the  blind,  without  appearing  to  take  any  notice  of  the 
ducks,  which,  if  he  pause  to  look  at  them,  will  often  swim 
away  or  take  wing  on  the  instant. 

For  the  recovery  of  the  crippled  birds,  however,  the 
Newfoundland  dog  is  used,  of  the  truest  and  purest  type ; 
not  the  huge  woolly  Labradorean,  but  the  short,  small- 
eared,  compact,  vigorous  dog  of  St.  Johns,  easily  recog- 
nized by  his  long,  stout,  waving  coat,  never  curled  or  knot- 
ted like  the  water-spaniel's  or  poodle's,  by  his  neat,  delicate, 
rounded  ear,  and  his  stern  never  curled  up  over  his  back, 
but  carried  pendulous,  or  stretched  out  at  length  when 
he  is  in  chase,  like  the  brush  of  a  fox,  or  the  flag  of  a 
setter. 

This  dog  is  a  pure  spaniel  of  the  largest  existing  spe- 
cies. He  is,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful,  enduring  and 
dauntless  of  all  dogs.  Certainly,  and  beyond  dispute,  he 
is  the  most  sagacious,  the  most  faithful,  the  most  easily 
taught,  and  the  most  retentive  of  what  he  has  learned  of 
all  varieties  of  his  race.  When  much  accustomed  to  one 
master,  who  is  fond  of  them,  and  who  has  the  knack  of 
teaching  and  making  himself  beloved  at  the  same  time, 
they  become  so  intelligent  as  to  understand  every  word 


220  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

that  is  said  to  them,  and  to  act  as  if  in  obedience  to  reason 
and  induction. 

They  are,  in  their  purest  shape,  jet  black  or  dingy  red ; 
any  intermixture  of  white,  beyond  a  slight  frill  on  the 
breast,  is  indicative  of  Labrador  blood.  This  breed  obtains 
in  great  excellence  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland, 
through  Patapsco  Neck,  on  the  Gunpowder,  and  up  the 
Chesapeake  Bay,  where  they  are  considered  of  unrivalled 
excellence  among  the  duck-shooters. 

These  dogs  are  the  descendants  of  a  dog  and  bitch,  the 
former  red,  the  latter  black,  which  were  obtained  by  Mr. 
Law,  of  Baltimore,  from  an  English  vessel  bound  from 
Newfoundland  to  Poole  in  England.  They  were  stated 
to  be  a  pair  of  pups  procured  for  the  owner  of  the  vessel, 
of  the  most  approved  Newfoundland  breed,  but  of  differ- 
ent families,  and  were  obtained  by  the  sailors  from  the 
English  captain  as  a  matter  of  favor.  Their  progeny 
retains  the  original  color,  particularly  the  red  hue  of  the 
dog,  and  all  the  characteristic  excellences  of  the  breed. 

"  Their  patience  and  endurance,"  says  Dr.  Lewis  in 
his  edition  of  Youatt,  "  are  very  great  when  pursuing 
wounded  ducks  through  the  floating  ice,  and  when  fatigued 
from  extraordinary  exertions,  are  known  to  rest  themselves 
upon  broken  portions  of  ice,  till  sufficiently  recovered  again 
to  commence  the  chase.  We  have  seen  some  of  the  de- 
scendants of  these  sagacious  animals  on  the  Chesapeake, 
engaged  not  only  in  bringing  the  ducks  from  the  water 
when  shot,  but  also  toling  them  into  shore  within  range 
of  the  murderous  batteries  concealed  behind  the  blind." 

The  points  by  which  they  may  be  known  are,  the  long, 


THE   NEWFOUNDLAND   RETRIEVER. 


221 


pointed  head,  small,  smooth  ears,  medium  height,  compact 
shape,  muscular,  short  limbs,  wavy,  long,  glossy  coat  of 
black  or  red,  not  curled,  and  the  wonderful  activity, 
strength,  and  even  speed  for  which  the  race  is  famous. 

When  they  are  of  the  pure  breed,  they  require  little 
breaking  and  no  severity.  The  water,  in  the  most  bitter 
storm  or  the  severest  cold,  seems  to  be  native  to  them. 
They  literally  delight  and  revel  in  deep  snow,  wallowing 
in  it  as  if  for  pleasure.  As  to  education,  they  require  only 
to  be  shown  a  few  times  what  they  are  desired  to  do, 
before  they  will  acquire,  and  once  acquired,  never  forget 
it  more ;  and  as  friends  and  companions,  they  are  better 
even  than  as  servants  to  man ;  their  gratitude,  love,  inde- 
fatigable desire  to  please,  cannot  be  surpassed  by  that  of 
any  living  being,  brute  or  human ;  and  their  fidelity, 
attachment,  truth  and  devotion,  alone  of  any  I  have  ever 
seen  or  proved,  defies  time  and  change,  is  unaltered  by 
unkindness,  and  survives  even  the  grave. 


THE    HOUND. 


ALL  the  different  varieties  of  the  hound,  which  finds 
and  follows  his  game  by  nose,  seem  to  be  derived  origi- 
nally from  the  old  English  bloodhound,  sleuth  hound,  Tal- 
bot  or  Southern  hound,  all  of  which  were  modifications  of 
one  animal,  the  same  as  that  described  by  Shakspeare*  in 
those  immortal  lines  of  Midsummer  Night's  Dream,  which, 
familiar  as  household  words  to  all  lovers  of  poetry,  deserve 
to  be  as  well  known  to  all  sportsmen,  for  the  admirable 
description  they  convey  of  the  old  English  hound  of  the 
Elizabethan  era,  undoubtedly  the  parent  of  all  the  modern 
families  from  the  stately  staghound  down  to  the  minute 
beagle. 


THE   HOUND.  223 

"My  hounds  are  bred  out  of  the  Spartan  kind, 
So  flewed,  so  sanded  ;  and  their  heads  are  hung 
With  ears  that  sweep  away  the  morning  dew ; 
Crook-kneed  and  dewlapped  like  Thessalian  hulls, 
Slow  in  pursuit,  but  matched  in  mouth  like  bells, 
Each  under  each,  a  cry  more  tunable 
Was  never  hallo'ed  to,  nor  cheered  with  horn, 
In  Crete,  in  Sparta,  nor  in  Thessaly." 

It  is  not  worth  the  while  to  inquire  whether  the  La- 
conian  and  Thessalian  hounds,  so  often  alluded  to  by 
Horace,  Ovid  and  other  classical  writers,  were  in  truth  of 
the  bloodhound  type,  or  if  they  were  not  rather  of  the 
large,  shaggy,  half  mastiff,  half  sheep-dog  type,  peculiar 
still  to  Albania  and  Epirus,  and  adapted  to  the  hunting  of 
the  bear  or  boar,  for  which  purpose  they  seem  to  have 
been  principally  used. 

The  first  improvement  in  this  old  stock  was,  it  would 
seem,  the  old  improved  foxhound  of  Somerville's  and 
Beckford's  stamp,  and  admirably  described  by  the  latter 
writer  in  the  following  passage. 

"  Let  his  legs  be  straight  as  arrows,  his  feet  round  and 
not  too  large  ;  his  shoulders  back  ;  his  breast  rather  wide 
than  narrow ;  his  chest  deep ;  his  back  broad ;  his  head 
small ;  his  neck  thin ;  his  tail  thick  and  bushy — if  he  carry 
it  well,  so  much  the  better ;  .  .  a  small  head,  however,  as 
relative  to  beauty  only,  for  as  to  goodness,  I  believe  large- 
headed  hounds  are  in  no  wise  inferior." 

This  is  the  stamp  of  dog  after  which  our  forefathers  used 
to  ride  from  the  days  of  Queen  Anne  to  the  latter  half  of 
the  reign  of  George  the  Third ;  and  not  very  different  were 


224  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

those  which  the  mighty  Nimrods  of  the  day,  Mr.  Meynell, 
old  Lord  Forester,  and  their  contemporaneous  worthies 
followed  within  these  sixty  years  over  the  classic  ground 
of  Melton  Mowbray. 

The  ordinary  time  of  throwing  off  in  those  days  was  at 
daybreak ;  the  fox  was  trailed  by  his  cold  scent  from  the 
pheasant  preserve  or  farm-yard  which  he  had  been  plun- 
dering, to  the  wood  where  he  had  laid  up,  and  was  rua 
down  after  a  chase  of  from  ten  to  thirty  miles,  accomplished 
in  a  space  of  time  varying  from  two  to  half  a  dozen  hours, 
the  hunters  following  them  at  a  hard  gallop  on  stout  three- 
part-bred  horses,  which  we  should  now  condemn  as  too 
coarsely  bred  for  the  carriage,  with  ample  time  afforded 
them  to  pick  the  easy  places  in  fences,  to  ride  round  by- 
lanes,  and  to  nick  in  somehow  or  other  in  season  for  the  kill. 

What  is  the  cross,  or  whether  there  is  any,  by  which 
the  modern  foxhound  has  been  brought  to  his  present  per- 
fection, cannot  be  easily  ascertained,  as  the  secret  has  been 
well  kept  by  the  breeders.  Stonehenge  believes  that  there 
has  been  a  cross  of  the  greyhound,  and  perhaps  of  the 
bull-dog. 

Of  the  former  I  am  not  prepared  to  speak  positively, 
beyond  this,  that  if  there  be  any  cross  of  greyhound  blood, 
it  is  infinitesimally  small,  and  has  left  no  trace  of  its 
existence  in  form,  in  coat,  in  color,  or  in  any  thing  unless 
it  be  speed.  It  is  an  error  to  believe  that  the  greyhound 
has  naturally  no  power  of  scenting,  the  true  state  of  .the 
case  being  that  he  is  regularly  restrained  from  hunting  by 
nose,  discouraged  from  attempting  it,  and  destroyed,  as 
worthless,  if  he  persist  in  doing  it. 


THE    HOUND.  225 

The  cross,  therefore,  would  not  necessarily  be  destruc- 
tive of  all  scenting  capacities,  and  it  is  notorious  that  the 
new  high-bred  racing  foxhound  has  deteriorated  greatly 
from  the  old  Southern  hound,  and  somewhat  from  the  old 
English  foxhound,  in  nose.  He  is  less  capable  of  picking 
out  a  cold  scent  foot  by  foot  on  a  bad  scenting  day,  but  on 
the  other  hand  he  comes  away  with  his  fox,  on  finding,  with 
such  a  dash,  and  keeps  up  so  wonderful  a  stroke  of  speed, 
with  such  endurance  and  pluck,  that,  in  any  tolerable 
weather,  the  scent  has  no  chance  to  grow  cold,  and  that,  on 
a  good  hunting  day,  no  fox  that  was  ever  unkennelled  can 
live  before  him  an  hour,  or  any  ordinary  one  half  that 
time. 

No  horse  but  one  thoroughbred,  or,  if  not  tracing 
directly  to  Barb  blood  on  both  sides,  with  at  least  seven 
or  eight  crosses  of  pure  blood,  can  by  any  chance  live 
through  a  run  of  an  hour  with  fourteen  stone  on  his  back 
within  sight  or  hearing  of  them,  and  no  horse  not  the  son 
of  a  thoroughbred  sire,  at  least,  could  stay  one  mile  at 
their  pace. 

They  are  truly  wonderful  animals,  with  speed  equal  to 
that  of  a  slow  greyhound,  dash  and  courage  equal  to  any 
thing,  and  scent  amply  sufficient  to  sustain  their  other 
powers. 

There  may  be,  as  I  have  said,  and  probably  is,  a  very 
remote,  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  times  removed  cross  of  grey- 
hound blood  in  them,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  there  is  no 
bull-dog,  unless  what  may  have  come  through  the  grey- 
hound, which  we  know  has  an  infusion  of  that  strain  intro- 
duced by  Lord  Orford. 
10* 


MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

The  first  cross  of  foxhound  and  greyhound,  which  is 
used  on  the  borders  of  England  and  Scotland  for  fox 
coursing  on  the  fells,  and  in  the  Highlands  for  pursuing 
wounded  deer,  when  the  true  Scottish  deerhound  is  not 
obtainable,  and  which  is  called  by  the  borderers  "  The 
Streaker,"  is  familiar  to  me,  and  from  my  knowledge  of  it, 
I  am  satisfied  that  it  would  require  very  many  crosses 
backward  into  the  pure  foxhound  before  we  should  arrive 
from  it  at  such  animals  as  Mr.  Osbaldiston's,  or  Sir 
Kichard  Sutton's,  or  the  Duke  of  Beaufort's,  Northampton- 
shire, or  Melton  Mowbray,  or  Vale  of  Blackmoor,  fliers. 

The  color  of  the  original  bloodhound  was  black, 
black  and  tan,  or  tawny,  with  very  little  white,  and  the 
pure  black  breed  of  St.  Hubert  was  the  most  highly 
prized  of  all.  The  Talbots  varied  but  little  from  the 
general  coloring  of  the  bloodhound,  but  the  yellow  and 
black  pie  was  their  general  color.  "  The  head,"  says 
Stonehenge,  "  is  very  handsome ;  ears  large,  soft  and  pen- 
dulous ;  jowl  square  and  well  developed ;  nose  broad,  soft 
and  moist ;  and  eyes  lustrous  and  beautifully  soft  when  in 
an  unexcited  state." 

The  Southern  hound,  though  somewhat  lighter  framed 
and  not  much,  has  the  same  general  characteristics,  but  is 
often,  if  not  generally,  blue  mottled  with  patches  of 
black  and  tan. 

The  new  improved  racing  foxhound  and  the  modern 
staghound,  differing  from  the  former  only  in  superior 
height  and  power,  though  with  equal  fleetness,  dash,  and 
spiry  high-bred  carriage,  vary  from  the  old  strains,  not 
only  in  their  lighter  forms,  straight  limbs,  long  let-down 


THE   HOUND.  227 

quarters,  slender  heads,  small  ears,  and  greater  celerity  of 
motion  with  a  shriller  and  less  musical  note ;  but  in  the 
great  prevalence  of  white,  which,  more  or  less  pied  and 
spotted  with  black  and  tan  or  yellow  pie,  is  decidedly  the 
prevalent  color,  at  present,  of  all  the  favorite  families  even 
of  the  fast  modern  harrier,  which  is  now  little  more  than 
a  small  foxhound,  though,  perhaps,  one  shade  less  removed 
from  the  Southern  hound. 

I  am  myself  inclined  to  the  belief  that  all  the  improved 
modern  dogs  have  been  produced  rather  by  the  careful 
selection,  generation  after  generation,  of  the  lightest,  best 
formed,  handsomest,  and  fleetest  parents  on  both  sides, 
than  by  crossing  with  dogs  of  different  races  and  varie- 
ties. We  know  that  such  has  been  the  case  mainly  with 
our  improved  breed  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  I  do  not  see 
why  such  should  be  overlooked,  as  a  palpable  method  of 
improving  families  of  dogs. 

We  know  that,  by  constantly,  year  after  year,  breed- 
ing from  the  tallest  26-inch  foxhounds  out  of  25  or  24- 
inch  bitches,  we  have  established  a  permanent  family, 
known  as  staghounds  or  buckhounds,  of  which  her  Majes- 
ty's pack  at  Windsor  are  the  finest  type.  These  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  Highland  deerhound,  which  is  a 
totally  distinct  animal,  of  which  I  shall  treat  hereafter. 

We  know  also  that  by  raising  stock  in  the  same  manner 
from  the  smallest  and  lightest  foxhounds,  which  are  draft- 
ed from  regular  packs  owing  to  their  want  of  symmetrical 
size,  and  physical  endurance,  we  have  built  up  a  self- 
reproducing  family  of  improved  harriers.  In  the  like 
manner — since  the  formation,  slowness,  depth  of  voice,  color, 


228  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

and,  in  a  word,  all  the  peculiarities  of  the  Southern  hounds 
and  Talbots  were  comparative — it  is  easy  to  conceive,  that, 
when  in  process  of  time  the  clearing  up  of  the  forests  and 
other  causes  rendered  a  swifter  hound  desirable,  those  ani- 
mals should  be  chosen  from  which  to  raise  stock,  possess- 
ing the  points  of  speed,  lightness,  and  activity,  rather 
than  those  of  strength,  endurance,~and  even  of  pre-eminent 
scent.  There  were  undoubtedly  also  white  Talbots  and 
even  white  bloodhounds,  though  these  were  rare,  and  it  is 
possible  that  the  prevalence  of  that  color  in  the  fleet 
modern  hounds,  may  arise  from  a  casual  coincidence  of 
color  and  fleetness  in  some  pure  ancestral  strain. 

I  confess,  however,  that  I  think  it  probable  that  there 
is  a  distant  cross  somewhere — perhaps  through  the  North- 
ern hound,  which  Stonehenge  states,  as  if  with  authority, 
to  have  been  decidedly  a  cross  of  the  Southern  hound 
with  the  Scottish  deerhound — of  some  slighter  and  faster 
strain,  which  may  have  imparted  color  as  well  as  speed. 

The  harrier — although  it  also  has  of  late  years  under- 
gone much  the  same  process  of  improvement,  so  that  it 
has  become  in  many  instances  little  more  than  a  dwarf 
foxhound,  increase  of  speed  having  been  sought  at  the 
expense  of  strength,  to  the  overmatching  of  the  hare  and 
the  deterioration  of  the  sport — still  retains  more  of  the 
Southern  hound,  and  shows  the  blood,  both  by  its  colors, 
the  black  and  yellow  pie  and  the  blue  mottle,  and  by  its 
deep  melodious  challenge. 

The  beagle,  the  smallest  of  the  species,  now  used  in  Eng- 
land only  to  hunt  rabbits,  is  a  charming  and  beautiful  little 
auiiual,  being  in  fact  a  mere  pocket  edition  of  the  South- 


THE   HOUND.  229 

ern  hound,  which  it  exactly  resembles  in  almost  every 
particular,  unless  it  be  the  crooklegs,  the  dewlap,  and  the 
pendulous  jaws. 

It  has  the  color,  the  soft  lustrous  eye,  the  long  soft 
drooping  ears,  "  that  sweep  away  the  morning  dew,"  and 
the  cry,  though  small  as  compared  with  that  of  the  great 
hound,  yet  tunable,  sonorous,  deep,  and  matched  like  bells. 

There  is  no  prettier  sport  in  the  world,  on  a  small 
scale,  than  to  hunt  rabbits  where  they  are  abundant,  with 
these  industrious,  active  and  indefatigable  little  dogs,  and 
few  more  interesting  sights  than  a  pack  of  the  merry  little 
pigmies  in  full  cry,  running  literally  so  that  a  table-cloth 
may  cover  them,  and  following  the  devious  mazes  of  their 
timorous  quarry  with  undeviating  instinct  through  fern, 
bush,  brake  and  coppice. 

Of  the  improved  English  foxhound  I  have  never  seen 
any  in  America,  the  animals  here  used  partaking  largely 
of  the  Talbot  blood,  color  and  note,  and  having  his 
qualities  of  excellent  nose,  great  endurance,  indefatigable 
industry,  and  the  habit  of  sticking  to  their  scent,  day  in 
and  day  out,  until  the  fox  is  worn  out  rather  than  run 
down. 

The  American  foxhound  as  used  in  pursuit  of  the  fox 
in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  other  Southern  States,  and  of 
the  deer  in  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  wherever  deer-hunt- 
ing on  horseback  or  by  driving  is  practised,  is  in  fact  actually 
the  hound,  unaltered  and  identical,  of  Beckford  and  Som- 
crville.  I  am  of  opinion,  moreover,  that  he  is  the  best 
adapted  hound  for  this  country,  where  so  much  of  the 
hunting  is  in  difficult,  intricate,  entangled  woodlands, 


230  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

marshy  brakes  and  deep  forests,  where  perfection  of  scent 
is  the  most  desirable  of  qualities,  and  where  great  speed  is 
not  attainable,  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and  not 
desirable,  owing  to  the  extreme  difficulty  of  following  the 
hunt,  which  must  be  kept  in  hearing  rather  than  in  sight 
by  the  sportsman. 

I  should  advise  persons  choosing  this  animal  to  select 
him  exactly  for  the  points  laid  down  by  Beckford,  as 
quoted  above  on  page  223  ;  and  to  be  contented  with  his 
great  scenting  powers,  industry,  and  deep  resounding 
voice,  which  makes  wonderfully  stirring  and  sonorous  music 
under  the  solemn  arches  of  the  grand  re-echoing  forest. 

The  best  colors  are  black  and  yellow  pied,  or  blue 
mottle  with  black  and  tan  ears,  eyepatches  and  saddles ; 
and  a  medium-sized  dog,  strong,  muscular,  and  compactly 
built,  with  long  back  ribs,  which,  as  in  the  horse,  should 
be  well  developed  and  firmly  fixed  to  the  hips  by  strong 
muscles,  long  thighs  and  good  strong  "  stifles" — all  of  which, 
as  Nimrod  properly  insists,  are  essential  points — not  to 
exceed  from  22  to  24  inches  in  height,  is  preferable  to  a 
larger  dog. 

The  English  staghound,  which  is  never  seen  in  this 
country,  and  of  which  there  are  but  two  or  three  p'acks 
kept  in  England,  is  from  26  to  28  and  even  thirty 
inches,  and  is  a  beautiful  spiry  animal  closely  resembling 
the  improved  foxhound,  or  in  fact  identical  with  him  in  all 
points,  except  that  he  is  exaggerated  in  size. 

The  English  foxhound  ranges  from  23  to  25  inches  for 
the  dogs,  from  22  to  23  for  the  bitches ;  but  uniformity 


THE    HOUND.  231 

both  of  size  and  speed  is  especially  studied,  and  the 
medium  height  of  24  inches  is  probably  the  standard. 

The  proper  height  of  the  old  English  harrier  is  from 
16  to  18  inches,  but  the  improved  or  dwarf  foxhound 
harrier  often  runs  to  21.  The  old  harrier  is  much  in  use 
in  the  northern  States,  where  he  is  a  good  deal  interbred 
with  the  old  foxhound,  so  that  he  is  scarcely  distinguish- 
able from  him,  and  is  used  both  for  hunting  the  fox,  and  for 
shooting  the  small  American  hare.  When  large,  he  is 
often  called  a  foxhound,  when  small  a  beagle — the  latter 
animal,  in  a  perfectly  pure  state,  being  very  rare  and 
indeed  almost  unknown  in  America. 

When  pure  they  should  never  exceed  15  inches,  and 
may  run  as  low  as  10.  12  is  perhaps  the  most  perfect 
size,  and  their  ears  should  hang  down  as  far  almost  as  to 
the  elbow. 

Of  all  hounds  this  beautiful  little  animal  is  the  best  qual- 
ified for  the  pursuit  of  the  small  American  hare,  which  is 
also  far  better  adapted  to  this  sport  than  the  English  rab- 
bit, which  he  much  resembles  in  size,  color,  and  some  of  his 
habits,  so  that  he  is  often  mistaken  for  him  by  old  country- 
men, and  generally  miscalled  after  him  even  by  Ameri- 
cans. He  is,  however,  not  a  rabbit,  producing  young  but 
twice  a  year,  whereas  the  other  breeds  monthly  ;  and  sit- 
ting in  a  form  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  among  thorns, 
briers  or  long  grass,  instead  of  burrowing  under  it. 

This  latter  habit  it  is,  which  renders  its  pursuit  so  far 
preferable  to  that  of  the  English  rabbit,  which,  where  bur- 
rows are  near  and  frequent,  goes  to  earth  so  quickly  as  to 
spoil  the  sport,  and  frustrate  alike  the  pursuers  and  the  gun. 


232  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

There  rests  only  to  be  named  the  great  Scottish  deer- 
hound,  perhaps  the  noblest  of  all  dogs,  and  one,  though 
rare  as  yet  in  America,  yet  rapidly  coming  into  demand 
and  use  in  the  Western  States,  for  which  he  is  singularly 
adapted  ;  as  coursing  the  stag,  and  even  the  glorious  elk 
over  the  boundless  prairies  on  fleet  horses,  or  running  down 
the  gaunt  and  grisly  wolf,  are  the  noblest,  the  most  exciting, 
and  the  most  truly  sporting  of  all  American  field-sports. 

The  Scottish  deerhound,  in  his  true  state,  is  a  gigantic 
greyhound,  with  hair  as  rough  and  wiry  as  that  of  an  Isle 
of  Sky  terrier.  It  is  doubtful  whether  he  is  a  distinct 
and  aboriginal  dog,  or  merely  a  carefully  improved  family 
of  the  ordinary,  rough  Scotch  greyhound,  which  does  not 
exceed  the  smooth  English  hound  in  size  and  is  inferior  to 
it  in  speed. 

Stonehenge  believes  it  to  be  merely  the  common  rough 
dog,  improved  and  increased  in  size  by  careful  breeding ; 
but  I  lean  to  the  opinion  that  it  is  of  an  ancient  original 
British  breed,  identical  with  the  famous  Alans  of  the 
early  Norman  kings,  so  celebrated  in  metrical  romance, 
and  not  improbably  indigenous  to  Cambria,  as  the  equally 
noble  and  gigantic  Irish  wolf-dog,  which  was  a  smooth 
greyhound  of  vast  size  and  dauntless  courage,  was  indige- 
nous to  old  legendary  Erin,  although  both  are  now  unfor- 
tunately nearly  extinct. 

These  dogs,  the  Scottish  deerhound  I  mean,  not  unfre- 
quently  stand  36  and  even  39  inches  in  height,  and  have 
been  known  to  measure  71  inches  in  girth  around  the 
chest.  Probably  36  inches  height  and  57  circumfer- 
ence may  be  held  the  average  size.  They  have  great 


THE    HOUND.  233 

speed,  very  considerable  powers  of  scent,  dauntless  cour- 
age, and  often  actual  ferocity.  They  always  run  at  the 
head  like  the  bull-dog,  and  one  of  them  is  a  match  for  a 
red-deer  or  a  wolf,  while  a  brace  are  said  to  be  able  to 
pull  down  a  bull,  and  would  doubtless  show  their  prowess 
successfully  against  that  noblest  of  the  cervine  family, 
the  great  American  elk,  wapiti  deer  or  we-waskish  of  the 
plains. 

This  splendid  specimen  of  the  dog  ia  so  nearly  extinct 
in  its  true  form,  and  so  nearly  impossible  of  attainment 
even  in  Scotland,  that,  being  absolutely  necessary  in  that 
country  for  the  pursuit  of  the  wounded  harts  in  the 
boundless,  open,  heathclad  deer-forests  of  the  highland  hills, 
on  which  bloodhounds  or  foxhounds  cannot  be  used,  since 
their  baying  would  banish  all  the  stags  from  the  land,  Art 
has  been  called  in  aid  of  Nature,  and  by  scientific  and 
judicious  crossing  an  animal  is  obtained  closely  resembling 
the  original  breed,  his  equal  in  size  and  power,  and  as  well 
adapted  for  the  uses  to  which  he  is  applied.  This  animal, 
now,  is  for  the  most  part  known  as  the  Highland  deer- 
hound.  It  is  snid  that  they  are  now  so  nearly  established 
as  a  distinct  family,  that  they  are  reproduced  like  for  like, 
for  generations. 

The  usual  cross  is  the  Scotch  wire-haired  colly,  the  fox- 
hound, and  the  greyhound.  Sir  Walter  Scott's  celebrated 
and  now  classical  dog  "  Maida,"  was  the  progeny  of  a 
Pyrenean  sheep-dog  and  a  greyhound  bitch  ;  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that  a  cross  of  great  excellence  might  be  got 
from  the  great  Albanian  or  Epirotic  mastiff,  the  canis 
molossus  of  the  ancients,  and  the  greyhound ;  and  should 


234  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

I  be  successful  in  a  scheme  I  have  long  meditated,  and  am 
now  about  to  put  into  execution,  upon  procuring  the  ani- 
mals necessary  for  originating  the  cross  I  contemplate, 
I  shall,  before  many  years,  have  it  in  my  power  to  supply 
all  my  friends,  and  all  such  true  sportsmen  as  shall  care  to 
possess  them,  with  a  fine  type  of  this  noblest  cross  of  the 
whole  dog  race. 

My  method  is  to  put  a  magnificent  jet  black  St.  John's 
Newfoundland  dog,  now  in  my  possession,  to  an  equally  fine 
jet  black  English  greyhound  bitch ;  to  cross  the  female 
progeny  of  these  parents  with  the  large  black  and  tan 
foxhound,  and  the  female  pups  of  these,  in  the  second 
generation,  again  with  the  smooth  greyhounds.  The  male 
pups  of  the  first  cross  I  shall  put  to  smooth  greyhound 
bitches,  and  the  pups  of  these  to  foxhounds  male  or  female, 
as  the  case  may  require. 

I  am  convinced  that  by  this  method  I  shall  procure 
size,  rough  hair,  scent,  courage,  and  intelligence,  equal  to 
that  of  any  conceivable  dog,  natural  or  artificial ;  and 
four  or  five  years  will  prove  my  success  or  failure. 

The  first  specimen  of  this  breed  of  dogs  I  have  seen 
in  this  country,  was  a  dark  brindled  gray  wire-haired  dog, 
of  which  I  got  a  sight  in  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1850, 
the  property  of  a  British  officer  on  his  way  to  California. 
He  stood  above  36  inches  in  height.  There  are,  or  recently 
were,  a  brace  of  very  fine  dogs  in  New  York,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Moore  the  dog  fancier,  who  can  be  heard 
of  at  the  Spirit  of  the  Times.  They  were  valued  at  $500, 
and  were  cheap  at  that. 


KENNEL   MANAGEMENT   OF   DOGS.  235 


KENNEL  MANAGEMENT  OF  DOGS. 

BEFORE  passing  to  the  field,  it  will  be  necessary  to  lay 
before  the  beginner  a  few  instructions  for  the  care  of  his 
dogs  at  home ;  the  feeding,  lodging,  exercising  them,  and 
getting  them  into  or  keeping  them  in  condition,  without 
which  all  is  labor  lost. 

Residents  in  cities  have  much  difficulty  both  in  lodg- 
ing and  exercising  their  dogs  suitably,  especially  in  sum- 
mer, when  the  prevalence  of  the  absurd,  useless,  brutal 
and  demoralizing  dog  laws  are  in  operation,  making  it 
almost  impossible  to  take  a  dog  beyond  the  precincts  of 
his  own  guarded  yard. 

I  call  these  laws  "  absurd  and  useless,"  because  it  is  a 
notorious  fact  and  an  established  medical  truth,  that  dogs 
are  not  in  any  degree  more  liable  to  canine  rabies  in  July 
than  in  January,  perhaps  less  so.  Whatever  other  causes 
do  produce  it,  heat  and  thirst  do  not.  Canine  rabies  is 
unknown  in  Grand  Cairo  and  Constantinople,  but  common 
in  Quebec  with  the  thermometer  at  40  below  Zero. 

Besides  this,  twenty  men  die  every  year  of  kicks  from 


236  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   8POKTSMEN. 

horses,  or  other  accidents  arising  from  riding  or  driving, 
and  two  hundred  from  firing  guns  at  little  birds  and  can- 
non at  political  meetings,  for  one  that  dies  of  the  bite  of  a 
rabid  dog.  Cruel  of  course  those  laws  are,  which  enjoin 
the  promiscuous  slaughter  of  the  most  intelligent,  faithful, 
industrious,  affectionate,  and  almost  reasoning  friend  of  man. 
Demoralizing  any  laws  must  be,  which  authorize  the  pay- 
ment to  wretched  street  boys,  and  vagrants,  and  homeless 
men,  for  the  cold-blooded  massacre  of  unresisting  animals. 
But  it  is  of  course  useless  to  address  any  argument  to  the 
common  sense,  or  any  appeal  to  the  humanity  of  city 
governments.  De  non  apparentibus  et  non  existentibus 
eadem  est  ratio.* 

All  that  remains  to  do,  therefore,  for  the  town  dwell- 
er, is  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and  provide  for  his  dogs  as 
much  space,  as  much  air,  as  much  exercise  and  as  much 
water  as  may  be. 

Cleanliness  is  not  only  a  cardinal  virtue,  but  a  cardinal 
preservative  of  health  and  condition.  Every  dog  should 
have  his  separate  lodging ;  nothing  is  better  than  the  ordi- 
nary old-fashioned,  double,  gable-ended  dog-house. 

It  should  not  have  a  bottom  attached  to  it,  but  should 
be  movable,  for  facilitating  cleanliness,  and  should  stand 
on  a  board  platform.  If  whitewashed  within  and  without 
once  or  twice  a  year,  so  much  the  better.  The  process  will 
keep  down  the  growth  of  vermin. 

The  best  bed  that  can  be  given  to  dogs,  is  carpenters' 

*  Concerning  things  which  do  not  appear,  and  things  which  do 
not  exist,  the  reasoning  is  the  same. 


KENNEL  MANAGEMENT  OF  DOGS.       237 

pine-shavings.  All  other  beds,  straw  especially,  promote 
vermin  ;  this  seems  to  prevent  them. 

The  best  food  for  dogs  is  old  Indian  meal  stirred,  with 
a  handful  of  salt,  into  water  while  it  is  boiling,  till  it  is 
quite  thick,  and  allowed  to  become  cold ;  when  it  should  be 
served  with  broth,  buttermilk,  or  milk,  where  it  can  be 
obtained.  Occasionally,  if  the  dogs  are  low  in  condition, 
a  complete  blow-out  of  flesh  may  be  given  to  them  ;  it  acts 
as  a  purgative,  and  they  are  the  better  after  it.  It  should 
not,  however,  be  given  above  once  or  twice  a  year,  a  few 
weeks  before  the  opening  and  close  of  the  shooting  season. 
While  at  work,  dogs  should  never  have  flesh,  except 
cooked ;  and  of  that  the  less  the  better.  Broth  is  all  that 
is  requisite,  and  where  milk  can  be  obtained  it  is  prefer- 
able to  broth.  Four  sheep's  heads  a  week,  will  be  amply 
sufficient  to  make  broth  for  a  kennel  of  three  dogs.  The 
bones  should  never  be  given.  They  are  constant  causes 
of  contention,  where  there  are  two  or  more  dogs  together ; 
they  engender  filth  and  disease,  and  they  are  seriously 
injurious  to  the  teeth. 

Dogs  much  accustomed  to  flesh  are  attacked  far  more 
severely  than  others  by  the  special  catarrh — the  disease 
known  as  distemper — suffer  from  it  far  more  acutely,  and 
are  more  difficult  of  cure,  since  exceedingly  low  diet  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  efficacious  mode  of  treatment ;  and  when 
dogs  are  entirely  or  principally  kept  on  animal  food,  it  is 
with  great  difficulty  that  they  can  be  induced  to  take  any 
other. 

The  water  supplied  to  kennels  or  single  dogs  cannot  be 
too  fresh,  too  pure,  or  too  frequently  changed.  Naturally, 


238  MANTJAL    FOR   TOUXG    SPORTSMEN. 

dogs  are  extremely  fastidious  as  to  what  they  drink,  far 
more  so  than  as  to  what  they  eat,  and  although  thirst  will 
compel  them  to  drink  from  any  puddle,  they  suffer  much 
from  doing  so  both  in  comfort  and  condition. 

Frequent  bathing  in  hot  weather  is  of  inestimable  utility 
and  comfort  to  these  hot-blooded  creatures,  and  the  way  in 
which  even  those  short-coated  varieties,  which  are  supposed 
to  be  the  least  addicted  to  it,  enjoy  a  swim,  and  continue 
half  immersed  for  hours  in  succession,  proves  the  necessity 
of  it  more  than  could  be  done  by  volumes  of  writing. 

No  less  than  pure  air  and  pure  water,  superadded  to 
wholesome  food,  exercise  is  needful  to  dogs. 

For  those  who  live  in  the  country,  where  space  is  of 
little  consequence,  it  is  decidedly  advisable  to  let  the  dogs 
run  at  large  in  a  court  of  twenty  to  forty  feet  square,  in 
which  are  their  respective  houses,  in  lieu  of  chaining  each 
to  his  several  kennel,  and  where  this  can  be  done  the  ani- 
mals can  get  along  with  less  road  work. 

Nevertheless,  dogs  are  vastly  the  better  in  any  case 
for  an  hour  or  two  of  exercise  daily  on  the  road.  Before 
the  shooting  season  commences,  if  they  be,  as  they  ought, 
full  in  flesh  and  somewhat  high  in  condition,  they  are 
greatly  improved  by  a  fast  run,  after  horses  or  a  wagon, 
of  five,  ten,  or  as  they  improve  in  wind  and  hardness, 
twenty  miles. 

Such  work,  particularly  on  hard  roads,  hardens  their 
feet,  and  renders  them  capable  of  threefold  endurance ; 
expands  and  invigorates  their  breathing  apparatus,  hard- 
ens their  flesh,  and  enables  them  to  go  through  double  the 
amount  of  labor,  without  the  annoyance  or  suffering,  which 


KENNEL  MANAGEMENT  OF  DOGS.        239 

dogs  otherwise  handled  would  feel  in  the  beginning  of  a 
campaign.  When  dogs  are  by  any  accident  much  infested 
by  fleas,  or  other  vermin,  the  best  way  to  deal  with  them 
is  to  rub  them  or  smear  them  over  thoroughly  in  every 
part,  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  shoulder  of  the  tail, 
with  soft  soap,  to  let  it  harden  on  them,  and  prevent  them 
from  licking  it  off,  by  the  use  of  the  muzzle.  Let  it  remain 
caked  and  crusted  all  over  them  for  the  space  of  twenty-four 
hours,  and  then,  washing  it  off,  the  vermin  will  be  washed 
off  with  it. 

For  this  purpose,  tobacco  water  has  been  recommended 
by  high  authorities,  but  it  is  to  be  used,  if  at  all,  with  the 
greatest  caution,  as  it  is  a  deadly  poison,  even  by  external 
application,  if  an  overdose  be  used. 

The  feet  may  be  hardened,  when  not  in  use,  by  bath- 
ing them  constantly  in  strong  brine ;  but  when  they  are 
sore,  and  blistered  after  work,  all  applications  of  this  sort 
should  be  avoided  like  poison  ;  emollient  applications  of 
lard,  or  any  unctuous  substance  devoid  of  salt,  are  the 
proper  remedies  in  this  condition. 

Dogs  are  extremely  subject  to  cold  and  rheumatism, 
both  acute  and  chronic,  and  they  suffer  greatly,  and  are 
much  disabled  for  work  and  endurance  by  the  latter  form. 

Where  it  is  possible,  after  a  hard  day's  winter  shooting, 
especially  in  wet  ground  or  in  snow,  a  warm  bath  is  of 
vast  utility  and  comfort,  and  on  the  next  morning  the 
dogs  will  come  out  "  like  giants  refreshed  by  slumber," 
ready  for  double  service.  After  the  bath,  or  without  the 
bath,  in  these  circumstances,  a  good,  deep  bed  of  clean 
wheaten  straw  is  a  sine  qua  non.  They  will  roll  them- 


240  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPOKTSMEK. 

selves,  dry,  clean  and  warm  in  it,  and  coil  themselves  up 
cosily,  to  come  out  new  creatures  in  the  morning. 

I  do  not  profess  in  this  volume  to  treat  of  the  medi- 
cal treatment  of  dogs  at  large,  or  for  special  disorders. 
Instructions  for  such  cases  will  be  found  elsewhere,  in  my 
own  larger  work,  in  that  of  Dr.  Lewis,  in  Blaine  and 
Youatt's  Canine  Pathologies,  and  above  all  in  Mayhew  on 
the  Dog — which,  as  the  latest,  is  by  far  the  best  treatise  on 
the  subject. 

Even  with  any  or  all  of  these  aids,  a  young  sportsman 
should  be  very  careful  of  attempting  to  treat  a  dog  for  any 
serious  case  without  veterinary  advice  of  an  experienced 
person.  He  will  be  apt  to  err  in  his  diagnosis,  to  mistake 
symptoms,  and  perhaps  to  apply,  as  remedies,  what  are  really 
stimulants  to  the  disease.  For  trifling  and  casual  ailments 
or  disorders,  rest,  cool  or  warm  quarters,  as  the  symptoms 
point  to  fever  or  to  chilly  affections,  and  plain,  wholesome 
diet,  without  flesh,  will  do  much. 

Emetics,  especially  violent  ones — and  that  most  com- 
monly exhibited  by  amateurs  and  quacks,  table  salt  in 
large  quantities,  is  the  most  violent,  and  is  often  excruci- 
atingly severe  in  its  operation — are  generally  to  be  avoided. 

Where  they  seem  absolutely  necessary,  the  dog  suffer- 
ing intensely  from  tumefaction,  heat,  and  tenseness  of  the 
abdomen,  the  best  speedy  emetic  I  have  been  used  to 
esteem  tartarized  antimony  and  calomel,  in  doses  varying, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  dog,  from  £  gr.  to  one  grain, 
given  at  intervals  of  half  an  hour  until  vomiting  is  pro- 
duced. But  Mayhew  prefers  antimonial  wine,  from  a  half 
teaspoonful  to  a  desert  spoonful. 


KENNEL  MANAGEMENT  OF  DOGS.        241 

Mild  doses  of  Epsom  salts  is  as  good  a  purgative  for 
ordinary  cases  as  can  be  used  ;  though  I  find  that  Mayhew 
recommends  castor  oil,  2  drachms,  olive  oil,  2  drachms — 
flavored  with  oil  of  aniseed  and  powdered  sugar. 

A  useful  formula  for  a  general  pill  is — 

Ext.  Colocynth,  half  a  scruple. 
Pulv.  Colchic.  six  grains. 
Mass.  Hydrarg.  five  grains. 

This  is  the  dose  for  a  dog  of  6  or  7  Ibs. ;  a  Newfound- 
land dog  will  require  thrice  the  quantity.  This  is  not  a 
rapid  medicine,  and  it  is  as  much  alterative  as  laxative. 
The  dog  will  be  much  nauseated,  and  will  refuse  food 
during  twelve  hours  or  upward,  at  the  end  of  which  he 
will  be  relieved  by  not  very  copious  but  bilious  evacua- 
tions. Absolute  rest  is  required  during  the  exhibition 
of  this  medicine. 

For  worms,  which  often  trouble  dogs  beyond  measure, 
the  symptoms  being  extreme  leanness,  staring  of  the 
coat,  ravenous  appetite,  hot  dry  nose,  and  constant  irrita- 
tion of  the  anus,  the  best  and  least  dangerous  recipe  is — 

B  Cowhage — Dolichos  Pruriens,  ^  dr. 
Tin  filings,  very  fine,  4  drs. 

Make  it  to  4  or  6  pills  according  to  the  size  of  the  dog — 
give  one  daily,  and  a  few  hours  afterward  the  purgative 
of  castor  oil,  as  given  above. 

Two  doses  should  be  sufficient,  unless  in  extreme  cases. 

For  common  mange,  give  1  oz.  of  Epsom  salts,  and 
apply  this  ointment,  which  must  be  well  and  thoroughly 
11 


24:2  MANUAL   FOR   TOTING   SPORTSMEN. 

rubbed  into  the  skin,  at  three  different  applications.  It 
must  be  rubbed  in  for  at  least  an  hour  on  each  applica- 
tion. 

Train  oil  one  quart,  spirits  of  turpentine  a  wine-glass 
full,  sulphur  sufficient  to  make  it  so  thick,  that  it  will 
barely  drip  from  a  stick.  Let  it  remain  on  the  dog  a 
fortnight,  then  wash  off  with  soap  and  warm  water. 

For  internal  poison,  large  draughts  of  soap  and  water, 
mustard  emetic  or  olive  oil,  are  the  best  immediate  anti- 
dotes. For  Strychnia,  it  has  been  recently  dicovered  that 
large  quantities  of  liquefied  lard  are  a  sure  preventive,  if 
given  in  time ;  but  as  it  is  rarely  known  that  this  poison 
has  been  administered  until  it  is  too  late,  I  fear  the  dis- 
"covery  is  of  small  effect. 

To  extract  thorns,  nothing  is  preferable  to  a  strong 
pitch  plaster,  bound  upon  the  spot,  and  followed  by  a 
poultice. 

For  a  snake  bite,  olive  oil  well  rubbed  into  the  part 
before  a  hot  fire,  and  a  copious  drench  given  internally,  is 
probably  the  best  application,  to  which  may  be  added  a 
cataplasm  of  leaves  of  the  broad-leaved  plaintain,  bruised 
with  salt  and  bound  upon  the  orifice  of  the  wound.  This 
is  the  Indian  recipe  for  the  bite  of  the  rattlesnake.  ' 

For  epileptic  fits.  Do  nothing!  neither  bleed  nor 
drench  with  cold  water.  Wait  till  the  fit  ceases,  prevent 
the  animal  from  running  wildly  away,  convey  it  quietly 
home,  and  give  injections  of  1,  2,  or  3  drachms  of  sul- 
phuric ether — 2,  4  or  6  scruples  of  laudanum,  to  1^,  3  or 
4£  ounces  of  the  very  coldest  spring  water  that  can  be 
obtained.  The  animal  is  to  be  left  alone  in  absolute 


KENNEL    MANAGEMENT    OF   DOG.  243 

silence  for  one  hour,  and  at  tBe  expiration  of  that  time 
the  dose  is  to  be  repeated.  This  treatment  is  to  be 
repeated  ad  infinitum,  until  the  creature  coils  itself  up 
and  prepares  to  go  to  sleep,  when  one  more  injection  is  to  be 
given,  and  the  animal  left  to  itself  to  recover  at  its  leisure. 

This  treatment  Mr.  Mayhew  declares  to  be  absolute 
and  almost  unfailing,  and  although  I  have  never  tried  it,  I 
have  no  doubt  of  its  merit. 

"With  this  I  shall  pass  from  the  kennel  to  the  field 
management  of  dogs,  and  the  various  species  of  game,  in 
pursuit  of  which  they  are  employed,  only  advising  all 
persons  of  mature  experience,  who  determine,  or  who  are 
compelled  by  necessity  to  act  as  veterinarians  to  their  own 
dogs,  to  use  Mayhew  in  preference  to  all  other  authorities. 
He  is  clearly  the  most  scientific,  the  mildest  and  the  most 
simple  in  his  treatment,  of  all  who  have  written  on  the 
subject.  All  those,  who  are  not  maturely  experienced,  I 
recommend  to  take  the  best  advice  they  can  get,  as  medi- 
cal men  say  pro  re  nata;  and  above  all  things  to  avoid 
bleeding,  and  dabbling  in  energetic  remedies  and  specific 
nostrums,  recommended  by  grooms,  dogbreakers,  and  old, 
knowing  hands,  which  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  the  hun- 
dred will  but  make  bad  worse,  and  will  probably  kill  ten 
where  they  will  cure  one  patient. 


THE  FIELD. 

SNIPE- SHOOTING. 

OF  the  different  kinds  of  field  shooting,  as  opposed  to 
river,  lake,  sea,  or  forest  shooting,  I  propose  to  treat  in 
reference  to  the  season  of  the  year  with  which  each  sport 
commences,  beginning  with  the  early  spring-time,  and  con- 
tinuing until  the  commencement  of  close-time,  in  those 
States,  where  any  game  laws,  whatever,  prevail;  which, 
unfortunately,  is  the  case  only  in  a  few  of  the  Atfantic 
States,  and  in  the  British  Provinces,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent ;  nor  in  these  even  are  they,  where  they  exist,  ob- 
served as  they  ought  to  be,  even  by  those  who  profess  to 
be  sportsmen. 

The  first  species  of  upland,  or  rather  field  game,  which 
comes  into  season  in  the  Northern  and  Western  States — in 
the  Southern  States  it  is  a  winter  resident — is  the  bird 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  245 

commonly,  though  not  correctly,  known  as  the  English 
snipe ;  this  species  being  distinctly,  though  only  slightly 
various  from  the  European  fowl  of  which  it  bears  the 
name.  The  distinction  was  first  recorded  by  Wilson,  and 
consists  in  a  permanent  difference  of  number  in  the  tail 
feathers,  and  of  some  discrepancies  in  cry  and  habits. 
Still  the  similarity  is  so  great  that  I  was  at  first  inclined 
to  believe  the  two  varieties  identical,  until  longer  acquaint- 
ance with  the  habits  of  the  American  bird  has  assured 
me  of  its  decided  difference  from  its  transatlantic  con- 
gener. 

This  little  wader  is  so  generally  known  to  all  persons, 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  every  where  by  the  same 
name,  that  it  needs  no  description ;  nor  do  I  profess  in, 
this  work  to  enter  into  details  of  natural  history,  which 
will  be  more  fitly  sought  in  works  especially  devoted  to 
that  subject,  or  to  some  more  extended  sporting  books ;  as 
my  own,  Dr.  Lewis's,  and  the  American  edition  of  Col. 
Hawker's  instructive  volumes. 

Here  I  limit  myself  to  explaining  briefly  to  the  young 
sportsman  how  to  hunt  for,  find,  and  kill  the  game  in  ques- 
tion in  fair  and  sportsmanlike  style. 

In  no  two  States  of  the  Union  does  the  snipe  come 
into  season  exactly  at  the  same  time,  as  he  is  every  where 
a  migratory  bird,  shifting  his  quarters  as  the  facility  of 
obtaining  food,  which  he  can  only  procure  in  unfrozen 
marshy  grounds,  and  the  necessity  of  rearing  his  young, 
which  he  can  only  do  in  certain  northern  temperatures 
and  latitudes,  and  in  wild  marshy  solitudes,  induce  or 
compel  him  to  do. 


246  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Every  where,  however,  to  the  northward  and  west- 
ward, or  northward  and  eastward  of  the  Carolinas,  he  is, 
probably,  more  or  less  entirely  an  occasional  spring  and 
autumnal  visitor ;  coming  the  earlier  in  spring,  and  re- 
turning the  later  in  autumn,  the  farther  south  and  west 
the  land  lies,  until  he  becomes  a  mere  winter  resident, 
departing  so  soon  as  the  spring  sunshine,  becoming  too 
warm,  gives  token  of  the  approaching  breeding  season,  and 
remaining  absent  until  the  freezing  of  his  feeding  places  drive 
him  southward  still,  whither  he  finds  waters  which  are  never 
congealed,  morasses  never  impervious  to  his  sensitive  and 
busy  bill 

The  seasons  of  the  appearance  of  snipe  in  the  mead- 
ows and  salt  marshes,  where  the  spring  and  tide  waters 
meet,  which  are  for  the  most  part  the  scenes  of  their  first 
appearance,  are  to  be  recognized  by  the  simultaneous 
appearance  of  the  blue-birds  in  the  vicinity  of  buildings, 
of  the  shad  in  the  river  estuaries,  by  the  croaking  of  the 
awakened  frogs  in  the  pools  and  quagmires,  and  by  the 
bursting  of  the  willow  buds ;  all  of  which  indications  of 
the  spring  occur  nearly  at  the  same  moment  in  every 
various  locality  from  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  to  those 
of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

The  frost  must  be  entirely  out  of  the  ground,  especial- 
ly in  the  wet,  cold  lowlands  and  meadow-swamps,  which 
are  the  favorite  feeding  grounds  of  this  bird,  and  the 
spring  grass  should  have  come  up  tender,  succulent,  and 
green  ;  the  close  of  winter  should  have  been  distinguished 
by  the  raw  north-eastern  equinoctial  gale,  airl  this  should 
have  been  succeeded  by  warm,  genial  weather,  with  au 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  24:7 

intermixture  of  soft  southerly  or  south-westerly  breezes, 
and  tepid  rain  showers  with  April  gusts  and  sunshine ; 
the  meadows  should  not  be  overflowed  with  water,  nor 
yet,  by  any  means,  be  dry  or  arid,  but  should  be  equally 
divided,  or  nearly  so,  between  grassy  dry  tracts,  from 
which  the  spring  rains  have  long  enough  subsided  to 
allow  the  herbage  to  grow  sufficiently  tall  to  yield  a  dry 
and  comfortable  covert,  and  shallow  muddy  pools,  slanks 
and  runnels,  in  which  abound  the  aquatic  insects  on  which 
the  snipe  breed. 

When  the  meadows  are  in  this  condition,  early,  and 
the  weather  is  settled,  fine  and  genial,  the  snipe  make  up 
their  minds,  as  it  would  seem,  to  make  a  long  halt,  and 
refresh  themselves  fairly,  before  they  again  take  wing  for 
their  northern  breeding-places ;  and,  in  this  case,  they 
attach  themselves  to  the  ground,  grow  fat,  tame  and  lazy ; 
and  will  sometimes,  where  they  are  not  harassed  by  inces- 
sant persecution  and  pot-shooting,  lie  so  hard  to  the  dog, 
that  they  can  with  difficulty  be  got  to  rise  on  the  wing. 

This  occurs,  however,  only  when  the  birds  come  on 
the  ground  early,  and  when  the  weather  is  fine  during  the 
whole,  or,  at  least,  the  greater  part  of  their  stay.  On 
their  first  coming  they  are  always  wild,  constantly  in  motion, 
restless  and  capricious,  often  deserting  favorite  grounds 
and  shifting  to  others  in  no  wise  superior,  without  any 
imaginable  reason.  If  the  meadows  be  in  good  order, 
and  the  weather  follows  mild  and  warm,  they  settle  them- 
selves down,  often  pairing,  and  sometimes  even  breeding 
iii  the  country.  I  have  myself  never  seen  a  nest  of  young 
snipe,  as  I  have  the  young  woodcock  repeatedly,  while 


248  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

unfledged  and  incapable  of  taking  wing ;  but  in  July  cock- 
shooting,  in  Orange  County,  I  have  more  than  once  shot 
young  birds  of  the  season,  with  the  pin-feathers  not  yet 
fully  grown,  which  must  have  been  bred  on  the  ground. 

In  wild,  windy  weather,  particularly  on  their  first 
coming,  and  when  the  season  is  uncertain  with  interrupted 
night  frosts  and  hail  showers,  snipe  often  rise  in  whisps, 
as  it  is  termed,  or  little  knots  of  ten  or  twenty  birds, 
when  they  invariably  fly  wild  and  high,  and  often  leave 
the  ground  entirely,  soaring  up  and  going  away  directly 
out  of  sight. 

At  a  later  period,  when  the  weather  is  hot,  and  when 
the  breeding  season  is  at  hand,  the  birds  have  a  trick  of 
rising  perpendicularly  into  the  air,  and  then  letting  them- 
selves drop  a  hundred  feet  plumb  down  through  the  air, 
with  the  quills  of  their  wings  set  edgewise,  making  a 
strange  sound,  which  once  heard  cannot  be  mistaken,  and 
is  known  as  drumming.  This  is,  beyond  doubt,  an  amor- 
ous manifestation,  like  the  strutting  and  cooing  of  pigeons, 
the  shuffling  and  wing-fluttering  of  game-cocks,  and  the 
tail-displaying  of  peacocks  and  turkeys ;  nor  do  I  know  a 
sound  of  worse  omen  to  the  sportsman ;  since,  at  these 
moments,  the  birds  are  inconceivably  wild,  calling' one 
another  up,  until  all  in  the  neighborhood,  or  within  sound, 
are  wheeling  and  gyrating  in  the  air  like  tumbler  pigeons, 
and  playing  all  sorts  of  fantastic  tricks  such  as  well-disposed 
snipe  would  never  dream  of  at  any  other  season,  sometimes 
alighting  on  rail-fences  or  tall  trees,  and  chattering  like 
hens  which  have  laid  an  egg. 

At  such  times,  there  is  little  or  no  hope  for  it,  except 


THE   FIELD. — SNIPE-SHOOTING.  24:9 

to  wait  patiently  until  the  mood  be  passed  or  the  weather 
change,  for  unless  something  of  the  sort  occur,  sport  under 
the  circumstances  is  hopeless. 

Perseverance,  however,  is  always  a  merit,  and  is  some- 
times rewarded.  I  once  remember,  after  wholly  despair- 
ing of  sport,  getting  one  of  the  best  afternoon's  shooting  I 
ever  had,  when  the  snipe,  after  playing  about  in  the  man- 
ner above  described  for  hours,  until  a  hundred  or  two 
were  in  the  air  at  once  in  full  sight,  came  in  a  great  flight, 
sixty  or  seventy  yards  high,  directly  overhead.  I  chanced 
to  have  one  barrel  loaded  with  duck  shot,  and  at  once  let 
drive  at  them.  Whether  the  shot  struck  their  wings,  or 
whether,  as  I  think  more  probable,  they  mistook  the 
whistling  of  the  charge  for  the  sound  of  a  hawk's  pin- 
ions,* they  instantly  pitched,  scattered  over  all  the  coun- 
try, and  lay  so  well  that  I  made,  eventually,  a  good  bag. 

When  one  lives  near  the  snipe  grounds  it  is  possible  to 
calculate,  with  some  certainty,  on  the  likelihood  of  sport, 
from  the  nature  of  the  ground,  as  described  above,  and 
that  of  the  weather,  after  birds  are  known  to  have  arrived ; 
in  addition  to  which,  their  cry,  as  they  fly  to  and  fro  from 
feeding  ground  to  feeding  ground,  or  as  they  come  in  from 
the  south  or  north  respectively  in  spring  or  autumn,  on 
misty,  moonlight  nights,  gives  proof  of  their  scarcity  or 
abundance  in  the  meadows. 

To  persons,  living  in  towns,  and  visiting  the  snipe 

*  That  birds  frequently  do  so  is  certain.     If  a  bullet  be  fired  at  a 
heron,  and  pass  any  where  near  enough  that  he  can  hear  it  whistle,  he 
instantly  throws  himself  on  his  back,  with  his  bill  pointed  upward, 
exactly  as  he  does  when  preparing  to  repel  the  swoop  of  a  falcon. 
11* 


250  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   8POKT8MEN. 

grounds  only  for  a  few  days  at  intervals,  sport  or  no  sport 
is  little  more  than  a  throw  of  the  dice,  or  a  matter  of 
guess-work,  so  capricious  and  erratic  are  the  habits  of  the 
bird. 

The  best  indications  I  know  of  a  probability  of  good 
sport,  when  the  markets  show  that  snipe  are  in  season — 
and  they  alone  do  show  it  beyond  the  possibility  of  error — 
are  the  clearing  up  of  a  cold  north-east  storm  into  soft 
genial  weather,  the  commencement  of  south-westerly 
breezes,  and  the  subsidence  of  the  waters,  if  they  have 
been  out  over  the  lowlands,  the  frost  being,  of  course, 
entirely  out  of  the  ground. 

Such  a  combination  of  circumstances  exactly  at  the 
nick  of  time  gives  good  promise  of  sport ;  but  if  it  happen 
too  late,  it  will  be  of  no  avail,  for  the  birds  will  have  gone 
onward,  or  if  it  fall  early,  and  be  immediately  succeeded 
and  interchanged  with  wild  or  frosty  weather,  the  snipe 
will  become  tricky,  and  the  shooting  more  than  ever  casual 
and  beyond  calculation. 

At  times,  in  the  spring,  they  will  lie  by  day  scattered 
singly  all  over  the  high,  dry  uplands,  in  fallow  fields,  bare 
pastures,  even  in  wood-sides,  descending  only  at  night  to 
feed  on  the  marshes,  where  next  morning  the  sportsman 
will  find  the  droppings  and  borings  of  an  innumerable 
host,  but  not  a  feather.  When  such  is  the  case,  pursuit  is 
useless.  There  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  go  home. 

Again,  in  cold  blowy  weather,  with  snow  squalls,  they 
will  lie  in  bushy  covert,  among  briers  and  alder  brakes, 
where  there  are  springs  of  water  and  muddy  pools,  or 
vlies,  as  they  are  called  by  the  Dutch  settlers;  and  on 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  251 

more  than  one  occasion,  I  have  had  tolerable  sport,  under 
evil  auspices,  in  easterly  wind  and  pelting  sleet  or  snow 
squalls,  among  high  wood,  on  what,  at  a  different  season, 
would  be  famous  summer  cock  ground. 

I  mention  all  these  circumstances,  as  showing  where  a 
man  should  look  for  his  game  according  to  any  variation 
of  weather. 

No  one,  of  course,  in  his  senses,  who  lives  in  near 
vicinity  of  the  ground,  would  dream  of  going  out  snipe- 
shooting  in  such  weather  as  I  have  named,  or  of  persevering, 
if  the  day  should  change  to  the  bad,  or  the  birds  take  to 
drumming.  He  would,  as  a  matter  of  course,  jog  home, 
give  "  Dash  "  and  "  Don  "  their  messes,  hang  up  his  Man- 
ton  or  his  Mullin,  and  say,  with  Peter  Simple,  "  better 
luck  next  time." 

Still  less  would  any  resident  of  a  city  select  such 
weather,  or  such  circumstances,  for  visiting  the  country  on 
a  snipe-shooting  expedition.  But  with  him  the  matter  is 
widely  different ;  he  has  come,  perhaps,  twenty,  fifty,  a 
hundred  miles  from  his  "  domus  et  placens  uxor,"  *  for  a 
week  or  ten  days,  difficultly  spared  from  business  by  an 
effort  not  this  season  to  be  repeated.  Therefore,  "  blow 
high,  blow  low,"  he  must  make  the  best  of  it;  and,  by 
knowing  in  what  out-of-the-way,  unlikely  nooks  and  cor- 
ners birds  are  to  be  found,  if  they  are  to  be  found  any 
where,  in  such  unpromising  weather,  he  may  make  a  decent 
bag,  when  equally  good  shots  and  as  persevering  workmen, 
not  being  up  to  the  dodge,  will  go  home  empty-handed. 

*  "  Home  and  pretty  wife." — HOK. 


252  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

The  best  day  for  snipe-shooting,  spring  or  fall,  in 
spite  of  all  that  English  authorities  say — who,  writing 
what  is  true  for  one  country  and  climate  err  not,  though 
they  are  frequently  blamed  for  error,  because  readers 
apply  their  sayings  to  another — is  not  a  dark,  windy,  driz- 
zling day.  A  dark  day  is  never  favorable  for  any  shooting 
on  the  upland,  least  of  all  for  the  shooting  of  snipe,  which 
are  so  exactly  similar  in  the  coloring  of  their  streaked 
plumage  to  the  withered  grass  and  sedges  among  which 
they  live,  and  over  which  they  fly  in  such  days  unusually 
low  and  near  the  ground — that  they  can  hardly  be  distin- 
guished except  by  the  glimpses  of  their  white  bellies, 
which  they  show  when  they  twist. 

Drizzly  days  are  never  good  for  any  shooting,  unless  it 
is  some  kind  of  wild-fowl  shooting ;  for  no  ground  bird — 
this  rule  is  invariable  and  without  exception — will  squat 
(without  doing  which,  it  never  can  lie  well  to  the  dog), 
unless  the  ground  or  herbage  is  dry  and  warm  to  its 
breast. 

Windy  weather,  provided  that  the  wind  is  from  the 
west  or  south,  and  not  too  high,  is  advantageous  for  this 
sport,  for  reasons  to  be  given  hereafter. 

A  mild,  sunshiny,  soft,  and  even  hot  day,  with  a  gentle 
southerly  wind  is,  then,  of  all  days,  the  day  for  the  snipe 
bogs ;  and  I  have  invariably  found  that  the  hotter  the 
day,  if  it  be  humid,  with  a  good  deal  of  gentle  air,  the 
closer  lie  the  birds.  I  have  seen  the  time  when  they 
could  hardly  be  kicked  up  under  the  dog's  nose ;  nor  is 
this  all;  for  every  old  sportsman  knows  that  in  such 
weather  the  flight  of  the  birds  themselves  is  wholly  altered, 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING. 

and  that,  instead  of  jumping  up  breast  high  at  one  jerk, 
and  then  zigzagging  away  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  they 
will  flop  lazily  along,  like  half-awakened  owls  in  daylight, 
and,  if  they  have  been  undisturbed  and  have  long  haunted 
the  ground,  will  often  drop  again  within  twenty  yards  of 
the  dog  that  has  flushed  them. 

"When  they  do  thus,  there  is  no  easier  bird,  even  for 
a  tyro  ;  all  that  has  to  be  done  is  to  let  them  go  away  a 
fair  distance,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  spread  of  your  shot, 
to  be  cool,  and  to  cover  your  bird  before  you  pull  the 
trigger. 

There  is  one  peculiarity  in  the  snipe,  that  it  invari- 
ably rises  up  wind,  and  goes  away  as  nearly  up  wind  as 
possible.  The  consequence  is  that  a  mode  of  beating  for 
him  is  proper,  is  indeed  the  only  proper  mode,  which 
would  be  decidedly  wrong  in  trying  for  any  other  kind 
of  game. 

One  must  invariably  beat  down  wind  for  him.  If 
possible,  and  where  there  is  a  long  narrow  range  of 
meadow,  I  would  make  a  great  circuit,  and  lose  a  couple  of 
hours  in  doing  so,  since  it  is  by  far  the  better  way  to  enter 
the  ground  from  the  windward,  instead  of,  as  one  should  do 
in  every  other  sort  of  shooting,  from  the  leeward  end.  If 
not,  the  whole  tract  must  be  worked  diagonally,  never 
fully  up-wind,  and  wherever  an  unusually  likely  piece  of 
lying  ground,  soft  oozy  tender  grass,  outspread  in  patches 
between  high  dry  reed  beds  or  burnt  grounds,  in  which 
snipe  never  lie,  or  rusty  half  evaporated  slanks  and  pools, 
or  tussocky  spring  bogs,  a  circuit  must  be  made  to  get  the 
wind.  If  the  dog  points,  the  (shooter  must  iu  every  case 


254  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

make  a  semicircle,  so  as  to  get  the  bird  down  wind  of  him, 
and  for  this  cause,  and  for  others,  of  which  anon,  in  no 
kind  of  shooting  is  an  extremely  steady  dog  more  neces- 
sary than  in  this. 

Many  writers,  for  this  reason,  recommend  as  the  best 
dog,  for  this  sport,  a  very  slow,  old  pointer — as  if  slow 
dogs  must  needs  always  be  steady,  or  fast  dogs  unsteady. 
Neither  of  the  two  is  the  truth. 

For  young  sportsmen,  for  general  shooting,  I  do,  most 
assuredly,  recommend  the  pointer  in  preference  to  the  set- 
ter, and  most  of  all  for  snipe-shooting,  though  for  myself  I 
choose,  and  to  all  old  and  thorough  workmen  I  advise,  the 
setter. 

Young  sportsmen  cannot  be  expected  to  break  their 
dogs,  and  all  shooting  over  setters  is  in  some  sort  dog- 
breaking  ;  nor  even  to  keep  their  well-broken  dogs,  by 
their  own  conduct,  well  broken.  A  good  pointer  keeps 
himself  broken. 

I  am  well  pleased  to  find  that  my  preference  for,  or 
prejudice  in  favor  of — I  care  not  which  it  is  called — the 
setter,  is  fully  shared  by  that  great  authority  Colonel 
Hutchinson,  whose  work  on  dog-breaking  is  incomparably 
the  best  in  existence ;  and  for  precisely  the  same  reasons, 
which  I  have  often  previously  given,  although,  until  I 
have  had  this  volume  in  preparation,  I  have  never  had 
the  opportunity  of  consulting  him.  He  likewise  draws  the 
same  distinction  with  myself  between  steadiness  and  slow- 
ness. 

If  birds  be  in  abundance,  it  matters  not  a  straw  how 
slow  a  dog  may  be,  nor  much  whether  one  have  a  dog  at  all. 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  255 

One  may  walk  the  birds  up  without  any  dog,  and  with 
this  advantage,  that  they  will  lie  better  to  a  man  than 
to  a  man  and  a  dog,  as  also  to  a  man  with  one  dog,  than 
to  one  or  two  men  with  two,  three  or  four  dogs.  But  if 
the  range  be  very  extensive,  and  the  birds  very  scarce, 
lying,  perhaps,  scattered  wide  apart,  two  or  three  or  half  a 
dozen  to  the  square  mile,  where  is  the  slow  man  and  the 
slow  old  pointer  ? 

Now  a  fast  dog  may  and  should  be  both  very  steady, 
and  thoroughly  cautious.  By  steady,  I  mean  that  he  must 
be  stanch  as  steel,  and  immovable  on  his  point.  For 
snipe-shooting,  above  all  things,  he  must  not  crawl  in,  or 
attempt  to  decrease  his  distance  from  his  game,  but  must 
stand  stiff,  the  instant  he  is  sure  that  his  game  is  before 
him.  Snipe  rarely  run  under  any  circumstances,  and  still 
more  rarely  will  endure  the  crawling  up  of  a  timid  and 
tender-nosed  dog.  Secondly,  he  must  remain  motionless 
and  unexcited,  though  the  shooter,  instead  of  coming  up 
to  flush  the  bird  over  his  point,  should  he  chance  to  point 
up  wind  or  across  wind,  turn  his  back  upon  his  tail,  make 
a  long  circuit,  and  come  down  in  his  face. 

He  must  also,  if  possible,  though  few  dogs  will  do  so, 
advance  to  meet  the  gun  on  a  silent  beckon  of  the  hand, 
without  call  or  whistle.  He  must,  when  whistled  in,  be 
willing  to  follow  steadily  at  heel,  without  an  endeavor  to 
beat  until  ordered  to  go  on,  which  is  a  point  of  the  great- 
est consequence  in  snipe-shooting ;  for  a  bird  which  is 
marked  down  will  often  allow  a  man  to  walk  close  in  upon 
it,  which  would  flush  wide  of  a  dog ;  and,  as  the  snipe  never 
runs  above  a  few  feet  from  the  spot  into  which  he  is 


256  MANUAL    FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

marked,  he  can,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  be  found  without 
aid  of  the  pointer. 

Of  course,  no  dog  is  steady,  or,  indeed,  worthy  to  be 
called  a  dog  at  all,  which  will  not  instantly  stop,  or  drop, 
to  the  motion  of  the  hand  or  the  report  of  the  gun,  with- 
out a  word  spoken ;  much  less  one  which  will  rush  in  and 
flush  his  bird  from  the  point,  from  over  eagerness,  or 
break  in,  instead  of  down-charging,  when  a  bird  falls  to 
the  gun. 

So  much  for  steadiness,  necessary  for  all  shooting,  most 
indispensable  for  snipe-shooting. 

By  caution,  I  understand  care  not  to  flush  game  by 
either  of  two  errors;  by  the  coming  upon  it,  unexpected, 
with  such  speed  as  to  be  unable  to  recover,  so  as  to  point 
before  the  bird  shall  be  alarmed ;  or  after  scenting  it,  and 
displaying  consciousness  of  its  vicinity,  by  the  drawing  in 
too  closely  upon  it,  in  order  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure. 

But  these  points  of  caution  are  attainable  by  all  good- 
nosed  and  practised  dogs,  and  both  are  compatible  with 
the  highest  degree  of  dash,  speed  and  courage.  The  neg- 
lect of  either  is  a  grave  error. 

The  latter  can  be  taught  by  any,  should  be  taught  by 
every  breaker  before  the  dog  is  allowed  to  go  out  as  thor- 
oughly broken.  It  is  taught  by  use  of  the  check  cord,  by 
which  the  dog  is  jerked  forcibly  back  from  his  point  so 
soon  as  he  exhibit  the  least  inclination  to  run  in ;  by  cau- 
tioning him  with  word  "  toho !  "  and  by  punishing  him 
for  disobedience. 

The  former  cannot  be  taught  except  by  long  practice, 
although  some  dogs  seem  to  possess  it,  as  if  by  nature. 


THE    FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  257 

It  is  a  far  more  rare  quality  than  the  other,  and  to  its 
rarity  is  attributable  the  idea  entertained  by  so  many, 
that  speed  is  dangerous  in  a  dog  used  in  pursuit  of  wild 
and  easily  scared  birds,  and  that  slowness  is  the  only 
guarantee  for  sureness.  Such  is  not  the  case.  All  good 
dogs,  long  used  to  sport  and  experienced  in  finding  game, 
know  as  well,  often  better  than  their  owners,  what  is  and 
what  is  not  likely  ground  on  which  to  find  it.  Some,  as  I 
said  before,  appear  to  possess  this  knowledge  by  heredi- 
tary instinct,  as  they  do  that  of  standing  and  backing,  natu- 
rally and  without  instruction. 

These  dogs  while  racing,  as  they  should,  at  a  gallop, 
whether  pointers  or  setters,  over  their  general  range,  the 
instant  they  come  upon  ground  which  their  instinct  or 
experience  tells  them  to  be  likely  for  their  game,  will  fall 
into  a  trot,  beat  it  inch  by  inch,  whipping  their  sides  with 
their  sterns,  and  if  they  find  the  much-wished  scent,  will 
point  stiff  as  statues ;  if  not,  having  beat  it  out  to  the  end, 
will  go  off  again,  heads  up  and  sterns  down,  at  racing  pace, 
until  they  come  to  another  likely  spot,  when  they  will 
repeat  the  same  operation,  ad  infinitum. 

It  follows,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  a  person  hunting 
with  one  such  dog  will  get  over  two  or  three  times  as  much 
ground,  with  not  an  iota  more  danger  of  flushing  a  hard- 
lying  bird,  as  one  hunting  the  much-belauded  and  recom- 
mended of  authorities,  old,  slow  pointer ;  and,  therefore, 
other  things  being  equal,  will  have  twice  or  thrice  the 
chance  of  finding  game.  Again,  a  person  shooting  over  a 
brace  of  such  dogs,  will  necessarily  double  his  chance  of 
filling  his  bag. 


258  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Having  entered  his  ground  then  to  windward,  the 
young  sportsman  will  continue  to  beat  as  much  as  possible 
down  wind.  He  will  himself  walk,  and  encourage  his  dog 
to  hunt,  as  fast  as  possible,  over  what  seems  unlikely 
ground.  But  if  the  dog  seems  bent  on  hunting  any  par- 
ticular spot  slowly,  he  should  not  cross  him — probably  the 
dog  has  his  reasons,  and  is  the  better  judge.  Where  the 
ground  looks  likely,  or  where  he  knows  there  are  birds,  he 
cannot  hunt  too  slowly. 

If  the  dog  seem  inclined  to  point,  feathering  and 
drawing  carefully,  it  is  well  to  step  up  toward  him  gently, 
saying  in  a  low  guarded  voice,  "  Steady  !  Steady  !  "  or, 
"  Have  a  care  !  "  When  he  points,  let  the  sportsman  get 
to  windward  of  his  point,  come  down  on  him  carefully, 
holding  the  gun  as  described  at  page  135,  and  be  as  cool 
as  he  can.  When  the  snipe  springs,  let  him  shoot  it,  if 
he  can. 

The  reason  why  it  is  recommended  to  come  down  wind 
on  the  snipe,  is  this;  that  he  always  rises  up  wind,  and 
goes  away  at  sharp,  short  zigzags,  tack  and  tack  in  the 
teeth  of  it,  and  the  harder  it  blows,  the  faster  he  flies  and 
the  more  he  tacks. 

By  going  down  wind  on  him,  the  shooter  forces  him  to 
rise  in  his  face,  and  to  go  off  either  to  the  right  or  to  the 
left  hand,  affording  him  a  cross  shot,  which  is  always  the 
easiest  shot. 

The  snipe  always  hangs,  when  first  rising,  for  a  second 
on  the  wing  before  he  gets  under  way,  and  for  that  second 
he  is  almost  motionless.  This  I  consider,  unless  he  be 
decidedly  too  near,  so  that  the  shot  must  tear  him,  or  like 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  259 

a  single  ball,  miss  him  clean,  the  best  time  to  take  him. 
The  old  notion  of  waiting  till  he  has  done  twisting,  and 
then  downing  him,  is — like  that  other  notion  of  pulling  out 
your  box  and  taking  a  pinch  of  snuff,  after  the  bird  rises, 
and  before  raising  your  gun  at  him — very  good  to  talk 
about.  In  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  to  wait  until  a  wild, 
sharp-flying  snipe  on  a  windy  day  has  done  twisting,  is  to 
wait  until  he  is  out  of  shot. 

If  he  rise  above  fifteen  yards  from  the  shooter,  and  he 
will  seldom  rise  closer,  he  cannot  in  my  opinion  be  shot 
too  quickly.  But  it  is  worthy  to  be  remembered,  that 
with  No.  8  shot,  the  right  size,  the  distance  at  which  the 
charge  covers  the  greatest  circle  within  which  the  bird 
must  be  hit,  is  thirty  yards. 

The  snipe  is  a  very  quick-flying  bird  except  at  the  instant 
I  have  mentioned,  or  in  the  case  of  his  being  tame  and  lazy 
on  hot  days ;  it  will  be  necessary,  therefore,  when  he  is  once 
under  way,  to  make  allowance  for  him.  At  fifteen  or  twen- 
ty yards,  if  he  be  crossing  at  speed,  the  gun  should  be 
levelled  at  least  one  foot  ahead  of  him ;  at  forty — a  full 
yard.  If  he  be  going  straight  away,  the  aim  should  be 
taken  something  over  him,  probably  about  half  the  allow- 
ance given  above ;  and  if  he  be  zigzagging,  nearly  the 
same  allowance  must  be  made,  on  whichever  tack  he  may 
be,  as  for  a  cross  shot ;  but  to  kill,  the  aim  must  be  taken 
and  the  gun  fired,  almost  with  the  speed  of  light. 

Snipe-shooting,  by  those  who  cannot  do  it,  is  sometimes 
called  a  knack.  It  is  so — for  it  is  emphatically  the 
knack  of  shooting  well.  In  no  other  respect  is  it  a 
knack;  for  it  has  nothing  in  it  peculiar  to  itself,  nor  any 


260  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

thing  which  disqualifies  him  who  excels  in  it  from  killing 
any  other  sort  of  game  that  flies  fast  and  strong. 

Most  men  who  shoot  much,  have  some  game  on  which 
they  most  excel,  probably,  because  at  some  period  in  their 
lives  they  have  had  more  continuous  practice  on  it.  To 
many  persons  the  snipe  is  a  very  hard  bird  ;  to  myself  it 
is  the  easiest  of  all ;  undoubtedly,  because,  when  I  first 
began  to  learn  to  shoot  as  a  schoolboy,  I  used  to  have  a 
few  shots  at  snipe  almost  every  day  of  the  season,  and 
could  knock  a  long-bill  over  pretty  cleverly  before  I  had 
ever  been  allowed  to  fire  at  the  much  slower  and  easier 
bird — to  the  general — the  partridge;  the  snipe  in  Eng- 
land not  being  game  by  law,  nor  as  such  prohibited  to  the 
unlicensed  shooter. 

Between  snipe-shooting  in  the  spring  and  fall  of  the 
year,  so  far  as  the  mode  of  hunting,  there  is  no  difference, 
nor  is  there  much  in  the  habits  of  the  birds,  except  that 
they  never  perform  the  antics  described  above  at  page  248, 
nor  are  they  usually  so  wild,  or  so  whimsical  as  to  their 
choice  and  changes  of  ground. 

They  return  from  the  north,  where  they  breed,  in  dif- 
ferent localities,  graduating  from  the  north  southward, 
from  July  until  cold  weather  sets  in,  not  wholly  deserting 
the  Northern  States  and  Canada  until  ice  is  thick  and  the 
marshes  impenetrable  to  their  bills. 

I  have  killed  them  myself  in  Canada  West,  so  late  as 
the  end  of  November,  and  have  known  them  shot  by  a 
friend  and  fellow-sportsman,  now,  alas !  no  more,  on  the 
edges  of  a  perennial  streamlet  as  far  into  December  as  the 
20th,  when  all  the  country  round  was  thick  with  ice.  In 


THE   FIELD. — SNIPE-SHOOTING.  261 

Georgia,  Alabama,  and  the  Carolinas,  they  swarm  in  the 
marshes  and  rice  grounds,  throughout  all  the  winter,  and 
afford  unlimited  sport  to  the  country  gentlemen,  and  bon- 
nes bouches  to  the  epicures  of  those  States,  until  the 
advent  of  spring. 

In  regard  to  snipe-shooting,  as  a  distinct  branch  of 
sport,  there  remains  no  more  to  be  said ;  but  a  few  rules 
for  general  deportment  in  the  field,  and  for  dog-manage- 
ment, may  be,  perhaps,  better  stated  here  than  elsewhere ; 
as  they  are  applicable  to  all  shooting,  especially  all  open 
shooting,  and  may  be  laid  down  once  for  all. 

In  the  first  place,  when  shooting  in  company — and 
here,  I  will  observe,  that  unless  in  battue  shooting,  which 
is  never  practised  in  the  United  States,  every  person  above 
two  is  one  too  many,  unless  where  two  parties,  each  of 
two  persons,  can  shoot  advantageously,  not  together,  but 
in  concert,  as  on  opposite  sides  of  a  river,  so  as  to  drive 
the  game  backward  and  forward,  from  one  to  the  other — it 
is  well  that  the  young  shooter  should  accustom  himself  to 
beat  the  ground,  and  shoot,  on  either  hand  of  his  com- 
panion ;  as  persons  are  often  found  who  cannot,  or  will  not, 
shoot  on  the  right  hand ;  to  whom,  if  older  men  and  older 
sportsmen,  our  beginner  must  yield  the  pas. 

The  cause  of  this  preference  is  this;  that,  of  cross 
shots,  the  bird  which  flies  to  the  left  is  by  far  the  easiest, 
that  to  the  right,  the  most  difficult,  of  all  shots ;  and  as  it 
is  the  invariable  rule  never  to  shoot  at  birds,  when  two  are 
shooting  in  company,  which  fly  toward  the  companion,  the 
left-hand  beater  has  the  chance  of  the  fairest  shots. 

In  the  second  place,  never,  under  any  circumstances, 


262  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

fire  across  the  face  of  your  companion ;  or  at  a  bird,  which, 
rising  between  you,  or  even  before  yourself,  flies  so  that  it 
must  cross  him.  When  shooting,  two  persons  together,  in 
the  open,  every  animal  which  crosses  to  the  right  belongs 
to  the  right-hand  shooter,  and  vice  versa ,-  and  the  other  has 
no  more  right  to  fire  at  such,  until  he  to  whom  it  belongs 
has  missed  it  with  both  his  barrels,  than  to  fire  at  it  when 
falling  or  after  it  is  down. 

There  is  no  greater  breach  of  courtesy  and  decorum 
possible,  than  the  violation  of  this  rule.  If  it  arise  from 
ignorance,  carelessness,  or  the  over-eagerness  and  excitement 
of  youth,  it  may  be  pardoned ;  but  the  person  who  commits 
it  is  likely  to  be  avoided  as  a  most  undesirable  companion. 

He  who  errs,  as  many  do,  wilfully  in  this  respect,  from 
a  nasty,  selfish  jealousy,  and  the  desire  of  bagging  more 
birds  in  the  course  of  a  day's  shooting  than  his  friend,  and 
bragging  of  it  afterward,  as  is  the  usual  habit  of  such 
characters,  may  be  set  down  at  once,  so  far  as  sportsman- 
ship is  concerned,  however  estimable  he  may  be  in  other 
respects,  as  no  gentleman.  Such  a  partner  is  to  be  avoided 
with  as  much  care  on  a  sporting  excursion,  as  is  a  gentle- 
man cutaneously  afflicted,  more  Scotico,  for  a  bedfellow. 

Shots  which  fly  straight  away  before  the  face  o'f  both 
shooters  must  be  taken  alternately;  and  it  is  well  to 
remember  that  it  is  always  graceful  to  give  the  shot,  espe- 
cially to  a  senior. 

When  a  bevy  of  quail,  several  snipe  in  a  whisp,  or 
more  birds  than  one  of  any  species,  rise  in  front  of  two 
shooters,  each  man  should  invariably  fire  at  the  outside 
birds  on  his  own  side. 


THE    FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  263 

These  absolute  rules  are  not,  as  it  would  at  first  seem, 
mere  maxims  of  courtesy  and  good-breeding.  They  are 
necessary  to  prevent  confusion ;  to  prevent,  what  will  other- 
wise constantly  occur,  both  men  from  firing  both  barrels 
at  the  same  birds,  and  consequently  getting  but  two  birds, 
however  well  they  may  be  shooting,  instead  of  four,  for 
four  shots.  I  have  seen  this  very  thing  happen  fifty  times 
with  two  jealous  men  blazing  away,  all  eagerness  to  outdo 
each  other,  at  the  first  birds  that  take  wing ;  and  also  have 
seen  half  a  dozen  more  birds  spring  one  by  one,  and  go 
away  unharmed,  with  all  the  barrels  unloaded,  after  one  of 
these  ineffectual  y<mo;  dejoie;  and  I  believe  that  the  odds 
are  as  five  to  one  in  favor  of  a  couple  of  shooters'  making 
a  bag,  who  adhere  strictly  to  the  rules,  against  a  couple 
who  shoot  hap-hazard,  without  regard  to  any  decencies  of 
deportment,  at  every  thing  which  rises. 

If  each  man  shoot  over  his  own  dog,  as  is  for  the  most 
part  the  case  in  America,  and  one  have  all  the  luck  of  the 
day,  for  luck  will  at  times  run  in  favor  of  one  gun  and 
his  dog  get  all  the  points,  it  is  but  courteous  to  call  up 
the  other  and  offer  him  the  shot. 

In  covert  shooting,  especially  when  birds  are  scarce,  it 
is  always  proper  to  signify  to  the  second  party  that  there 
is  a  point,  by  calling  him  up  in  a  low  tone,  exclaiming 
also  "  Toho  !  "  which  answers  the  double  purpose  of  cau- 
tioning the  dog  to  be  steady,  and  of  warning  the  other 
gun. 

When  a  bird  rises,  always,  before  firing,  cry,  "  Mark, 
right !  "  or  "  Mark,  left !  "  as  it  may  be.  By  observing 
the  two  latter  points,  many  birds  will  be  brought  to  bag 


264  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

which  would  otherwise  get  off,  either  being  missed,  or 
affording  no  chance  of  a  shot  to  the  man  who  finds  them. 

Always  endeavor  to  mark  down  a  dead  bird  or  a 
missed  bird.  The  former  by  noting  exactly  some  branch, 
leaf,  stone  or  tuft  of  grass  which  you  have  seen  it  touch 
in  falling,  and  then  bringing  that  mark  into  bearing  with 
some  other  point,  which  will  fill  your  memory  and  enable 
you  to  identify  the  place,  when  you  bring  back  your  eye, 
after  diverting  it  for  the  purpose  of  loading. 

This  precaution  is  particularly  necessary  in  snipe- 
shooting,  where  every  tuft  of  rushes  has  so  many  fac- 
similes, that  unless  you  have  made  it  safe  by  bringing  it  into 
line  with  some  post,  stump,  tree  or  roof,  or  other  distant 
object  on  the  horizon,  you  will  certainly  be  at  fault  to 
recover  it. 

Even  when  using  the  best  retrievers,  this  point  is 
worthy  of  observation,  and  attention  to  it  will  reward  the 
pains.  Much  time  will  be  saved  by  the  shooter  being  able 
to  put  his  dog  exactly  on  the  spot ;  and,  what  is  more,  the 
fresh  ground  will  not  be  disturbed,  as  it  otherwise  would 
be,  by  the  dogs  trashing  it  over  and  over,  in  seeking  dead. 

In  marking  live  birds,  let  the  young  sportsman  beware 
of  supposing  that  the  birds  have  alighted,  because  Tie  has 
lost  sight  of  them,  which  he  may  easily  do  from  any  one 
of  half  a  dozen  causes  ;  from  their  passing  behind  interven- 
ing obstacles,  or  into  or  through  undistinguishable  hollows 
and  swells  of  the  ground ;  from  their  flying  actually  out 
of  sight,  or,  what  is,  I  think,  the  most  common  of  all,  when 
the  birds  are  flying  low  over  a  background  of  nearly  the 
same  color  with  themselves,  from  the  marker's  eye  becom- 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  265 

ing  weary,  losing  them  for  a  second,  and  never  being  again 
able  to  recover  them. 

Few  niceties  of  sportsmanship  are  less  understood,  yet 
on  few  does  more  depend,  than  on  this  art  of  marking.  I 
never,  in  my  life,  either  in  this  or  any  other  country,  saw 
an  untrained  person  or  a  countryman,  who  was  not  himself 
a  game  shot,  who  had  a  conception  of  marking  birds 
down ;  yet  I  never  saw  one  who  was  not  confident  that  he 
could  always  do  so  to  a  yard. 

Every  bird  has  its  particular  method  of  alighting, 
which  will  be  noticed  under  each  head,  and  the  motion 
which  it  makes,  in  order  to  accomplish  this,  is  so  clear, 
that  it  cannot  by  any  accident  be  mistaken  by  a  practised 
eye.  This  motion  once  seen,  the  marker  may  be  certain 
that  the  bird  has  not  merely  flown  out  of  sight  but  has 
really  gone  down,  and  he  has  only  to  note  the  spot,  to 
which  this  motion  has  brought  the  bird. 

In  the  case  of  the  snipe,  the  peculiarity  of  action  can- 
not be  mistaken.  High  or  low,  leisurely  or  swiftly,  as  he 
may  be  flying,  as  if  he  suddenly  caught  sight  of  a  spot 
which  suited  his  fancy,  and  made  up  his  mind  on  the 
instant,  he  makes  a  short  pitch  from  the  direction  of  his 
previous  flight,  with  his  bill  pointing  earthward,  half  closes 
his  wings,  and  darts  to  the  place  he  has  selected  as  swiftly 
and  as  straight  as  thought. 

In  regard  to  hunting  your  dogs — observe,  these  rules  : 

1st.   Never    do   that   yourself  for   which   you   would 

punish,  or  from  which  you  wish  to  restrain  them.     If  you 

become  eager,  and  run  on  to  retrieve  a  winged  bird  when 

it  is  running,  you  encourage  them  to  do  likewise,  and  do 

12 


26fi  MANUAL    FOE    YOUNG    SPORTSMTCN. 

more   injury  than  weeks   of  breaking    and   flogging   will 
repair. 

2d.  Never  permit  or  encourage  them  at  one  time  to  do 
that  for  which  you  rate  or  punish  them  at  another.  Many 
persons  do  this ;  particularly  in  hieing  them  after  running 
birds,  without  considering  the  mischief  they  are  doing. 

3d.  Never  shoot  with  any  person  who  will  not  shoot 
to  rule,  as  to  walking  steadily  and  stopping  to  load,  &c. ; 
much  more,  never  hunt  your  dogs  in  company  with  riotous 
brutes,  which  will  neither  back,  stand,  nor  down  charge. 
Example  is  notoriously  far  more  effective  than  precept, 
and  nothing  is  unlearned  so  easily  as  discipline,  or  learned 
so  easily  as  riot. 

4th.  Never  run  or  hurry  up  to  your  dogs  when  point- 
ing. You  increase  their  rashness  and  eagerness  by  doing 
so  tenfold,  and  tempt  them  to  rush.  If  the  birds  are  run- 
ning before  them,  and  they  are  reading  too  fast,  by  hurry- 
ing after  them  you  not  only  excite  them  yet  farther,  but 
run  much  risk  of  flushing  the  birds  by  the  noise  you  make. 
Keep  your  usual  pace,  or  even  retard  it,  advancing  so  that 
the  dogs  can  see  your  motions,  with  your  right  hand 
raised,  reiterating  the  words  "  Care  !  Care  !  "  or  "  £5teady  ! 
Steady !  "  in  a  calm,  slow  tone,  always  using  the  same  and 
but  one  word  of  command,  for  each  case. 

5th.  When  the  birds  rise,  whether  you  fire  or  not,  in- 
variably make  your  dogs  "  down  !  ''  or  "  drop  !  "  for  a 
second  or  two.  It  tends  to  make  them  steady ;  it  gives 
you  time  to  mark ;  and  if  there  be  a  last  hard-lying  bird 
or  pair  of  birds,  it  increases  your  chance  of  a  shot. 

6th.  If  your  dog   rush   iii  aiid  chase  a  hare,  or  even 


THE    FIKLT). SNIPE-SHOOTING.  267 

/ 

devour  a  fallen  bird,  do  not  run  after  him.  You  cannot 
catch  him,  and  will  only  excite  him  and  yourself,  and 
make  matters  worse.  Holloa  at  him  !  rate  him !  whistle 
to  him  !  but  keep  your  place,  till  he  return  from  chasing, 
or  become  ashamed  of  tearing  the  game — he  must  do  so 
at  last.  Then  make  him  "  drop !  "  go  up  to  him  quietly, 
put  your  check-cord  on  his  collar,  if  he  have  chased,  drag 
him  back  to  the  spot  whence  he  started,  flogging  him  all 
the  way  and  rating  him,  and  make  him  lie  down  in  posi- 
tion, and  retain  him  there  by  the  cord  for  several  minutes. 
If  he  have  broken  in  from  his  charge  and  torn  the  bird,  do 
the  same  thing,  leaving  the  fragments  of  the  bird  where 
he  left  them,  and  then  make  him  draw  gently  up  to  them, 
and  point  them,  checking  him  with  the  cord,  and  flogging 
him  every  time  he  attempts  to  touch  them. 

7th.  When  you  buy  a  dog,  endeavor  to  learn  the  exact 
mode  of  hunting  and  words  of  command  used  by  his 
former  owner,  and  as  far  as  possible  conform  to  them.  If 
possible,  see  him  hunted  by  his  old  master. 

8th.  Never  punish  a  dog,  unless  you  are  certain  that 
he  cannot  fail  to  understand  for  what  he  is  punished. 

9th.  Never  undertake  to  make  a  dog  do  any  thing, 
however  trivial,  and  allow  him  to  get  the  better  of  you,  for 
fear  of  losing  time  or  losing  birds.  Better  to  lose  a  day, 
and  a  bag  full,  than  to  let  your  dog  discover  that  he  is  a 
master. 

10th.  Never  pass  a  fault  unconnected.  I  mean  by 
rating,  threatening  with  the  whip,  and  making  the  culprit 
pause  and  recognize  his  fault. 

llth.   Punish  with  the  whip  as  seldom  as  possible;  but 


268  MANUAL    FOK   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

when  it  is  indispensable,  use  it  so  that  it  will  be  remem- 
bered. 

12th.  In  hunting  dogs,  make  as  little  noise  as  possible. 
When  it  is  necessary  to  call  a  dog  by  name,  or  whistle 
him  up,  use  exactly  the  power  of  voice  or  sound  which  will 
reach  his  ears,  and  no  more.  Dogs,  which  are  always 
shouted  at,  come  at  length  to  the  point  that  they  will  turn 
for  nothing  but  a  shout.  When  it  is  necessary  to  turn 
them,  whistle,  and  wave  the  hand  in  the  direction  you 
would  have  them  move.  The  perfection  of  dogs  is  to 
work  entirely  to  the  hand,  requiring  scarcely  a  minimum 
of  voice. 

13th.  Make  friends  with  your  dog,  without  absolutely 
caressing  him,  so  soon  as  you  have  done  punishing  him, 
and  before  allowing  him  to  rise. 

14th.  When  he  is  at  point,  never  allow  him  to  flush 
his  game  without  your  ordering  him  "  On  !  " — and  then 
instantly  "  Drop." 

"    15th.  When  he  is  down,  never  allow  him  to  rise  till 
you  have  ordered  him  "  Up  !  " 

16th.  When  a  bird  is  killed,  signify  it  to  him  by  note 
of  the  whistle  and  the  word  "  Dead  !  "  at  which  he  should 
come  to  you.  Then  give  him  the  word  "  Seek,"  or 
"  Find  " — when  he  must  draw  up  and  point  the  dead  bird. 

17th.  When  he  is  pointing  dead,  never  allow  him  to 
recover  or  mouth  the  dead  bird,  until  you  desire  him  to 
"  Fetch." 

18th.  When  he  has  retrieved  dead,  accustom  him  to 
deliver  dead  into  your  own  hand.  If  he  only  lay  down 
his  birds,  he  will  sometimes  do  so  on  the  farther  side  of 


THE   FIELD. SNIPE-SHOOTING.  269 

creeks  or  impenetrable  morasses,  and  sometimes  he  will 
lay  down  a  winged  bird,  which  will  instantly  run  off  again 
and  give  double  trouble. 

19th.  Never  break  a  sporting  rule,  in  order  to  recover 
a  wounded  bird  or  get  a  shot  at  a  live  one. 

20th.  Never  lose  your  temper ! 

If  you  can  keep  the  last  of  these  rules,  you  can 
without  doubt  keep  them  all ;  and  if  you  do  so,  though 
it  will  be  painful  and  difficult  at  first,  it  will  gradually 
become  habit  and  grow  into  a  second  nature ;  and  when 
this  degree  of  excellence  is  acquired,  you  will  have  really 
become  a  steady  and  good  sportsman,  so  far  as  the  field- 
work  of  dogs,  and  may  even  undertake  at  a  pinch  to  break 
a  brace  for  yourself. 

And  here,  before  proceeding  in  its  turn  to  the  sport 
of  the  next  season,  though  I  might,  perhaps,  have  better  men- 
tioned it  above,  I  will  state,  as  the  most  befitting  place, 
that  during  spring  snipe-shooting,  the  Virginia  rail — Eallus 


270  MANUAL    FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

Virginianus,  of  which  the  preceding  is  a  splendid  and 
correct  sketch — a  distinct  variety  from  the  sora,  easily 
recognized  by  its  long  recurved  bill,  and  closely  assimilat- 
ing to  the  English  water-rail — is  often  shot,  together 
with  the  pectoral  sandpiper,  which  latter  is  known  in  some 
parts  of  the  country  as  the  jacksnipe. 

The  Virginia  rail  lies  very  hard,  and  creeps  among  the 
grass  and  rushes  like  a  mouse,  to  the  great  discomfiture  of 
the  dogs,  which  can  hardly  force  it  up. 

When  flushed  it  flies,  like  the  sora,  with  its  legs  hang- 
ing down,  but  even  more  slowly.  It  is  easily  brought 
down,  carrying  little  shot,  and  is  delicious  eating. 

The  pectoral  sandpiper  is  a  somewhat  smaller  bird 
than  the  English  snipe,  light  brown  on  the  upper  parts, 
speckled  with  black  and  olive,  and  pure  white  below.  It 
has  a  short  bill  of  perhaps  three-quarters  of  an  inch, 
slightly  curved  downward  ;  feeds  in  small  flocks,  but  for 
the  most  part  rises  singly  with  a  feeble  whistle,  lying  well 
to  the  dog,  which  points  it  stanchly,  and  affording  at  times 
excellent  sport,  on  springy  upland  meadows.  It  is  not  in 
the  least  degree  fishy,  and  is  admirable  on  the  table.  I 
was  once,  before  I  knew  what  was  the  bird  I  was  shooting, 
so  fortunate  as  to  kill  eighteen  couple  of  these'  capital 
little  birds,  with  nearly  the  same  number  of  English  snipe, 
on  the  Big  Piece,  as  it  is  called,  on  the  Passaic  river,  in 
New  Jersey.  But  that  was  before  birds  were  persecuted, 
as  they  now  are,  on  their  feeding  grounds,  and.  before 
shooting  for  the  market  had  become  a  branch  of  market 
gardening  and  railroad-business. 


BAY-SHOOTING. 

AT  the  time  when  spring  snipe -shooting  has  fully  come  to 
an  end,  winter  wild  fowl  has  terminated,  also,  for  several 
months ;  indeed,  it  has  ceased  to  be  an  object  to  any  save 
the  professional  gunner ;  for,  unless  in  cold  and  windy 
weather,  it  is  rare  that  birds  will  fly  thickly  enough,  or 
visit  the  stools  with  sufficient  frequency,  to  render  their 
pursuit  much  pleasure — a  chilly  and  laborious  pleasure  at 
the  best,  and  one  which  he  must  be  an  ardent  and  indefati- 
gable sportsman,  who  follows  regularly,  unless  a  dweller  on 
the  coast. 

It  is  true,  that  when  the  great  swarms  of  geese  have 
soared  sky-high,  and  long  gone  hawnking  away  to  the  north- 


272  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNQ.  SPORTSMEN. 

ward,  to  their  breeding-places  beyond  Symsonia  and  Labra- 
dor, that  a  few  brant  linger  yet  about  the  Long  Island 
bays  and  New  Jersey  beaches,  and  are  then  deemed  by 
gastronomes  to  be  in  the  very  height  of  their  culinary 
excellence,  "  a  dainty  to  set  before  a  king ;  "  but  their 
appearance  is  so  rare,  and  any  thing  like  a  day's  sport  so 
unattainable,  that  they  are  abandoned  exclusively  to  the 
Raynors,  the  Smiths,  and  the  Veritys  of  Long  Island,  and, 
as  they  are,  whether  justly  or  unjustly,  called,  it  is  not  for 
me,  who  am  in  some  sort  a  Jerseyman,  to  say,  the  pirates 
of  Barnegat. 

Just  at  the  moment,  however,  when  all  shooting  ap- 
pears to  be  over,  suddenly  "  from  the  tepid  waters  of 
Florida,  the  great  bay  of  Mobile,  the  sea-lakes  of  Borgne 
and  Ponchartrain,  the  lagoons,  and  muddy  flats,  and  allu- 
vial shoals  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  where  they  have  con- 
gregated in  countless  myriads,  while  the  ice  was  thick  even 
in  the  sea-bays  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware,  and  while 
all  the  gushing  streams  and  vocal  rivulets  of  the  Northern 
and  Middle  States  were  bound  in  voiceless  silence,"  arrive 
the  numerous  families  of  waders,  who,  their  proper  name 
being  legion,  are  indiscriminately  and  improperly  known 
as  bay  snipe. 

These,  like  the  geese  and  ducks  which  have  preceded 
them,  farther  to  the  northward  than  even  the  intrepid  Kane 
has  forced  his  adventurous  keel,  are  bound  Labrador-wise, 
to  lay  eggs  and  hatch  countless  young  in  due  season,  and 
every  where  along  our  shores  they  follow  onward,  host 
impelling  host,  and  pause  awhile  to  recreate  themselves — 
the  baymen,  and  such  city  or  country  sportsmen  as  care 


BAY-SHOOTING.  273 

for  the  sport,  taking  a  chance  at  them  from  Egg  Harbor 
skiffs,  with  heavy  guns  and  quantum  sufficit  of  No.  4  or 
No.  5  shot,  in  spite  of  hot  suns  and  innumerable  mosquitoes. 

I  said  that  these  birds  were  improperly  called  bay- 
snipe,  and  they  are  so  ;  for  the  only  bird  which  is  nearly 
connected  with  the  true  snipes,  is  the  first  or  almost  the 
first  which  arrives  among  us,  the  red-breasted  snipe,  Sco- 
lopax  Noveboraccusis,  better,  though  barbarously  known 
as  the  "  dowitcher,"  the  "  quail  snipe,"  and  the  "  brown 
back,"  according  to  the  various  places  in  which  he  chances 
to  be  shot.  Even  this  bird,  however,  is  not  a  genuine 
snipe,  but  comes  properly  under  the  genus  Macrorhampus, 
and  has  no  name  of  his  own  in  the  vernacular. 

The  other  species,  generally  included  under  the  com- 
prehensive name  of  bay-snipe,  comprise  the  curlews, 
three  kinds  of  which  visit  us  in  the  spring,  and  return 
again  early  in  the  autumn.  The  great  or  long-billed  cur- 
lew, Numenius  longirostris,  whose  portrait  is  prefixed ; 
the  short-billed,  or  Hudsonian  curlew,  Numenius  Hudso- 
nicus,  nearly  resembling  the  former,  but  smaller  in  size, 
and,  as  his  name  indicates,  shorter  V  the  neb  than  his  con- 
gener ;  and  lastly,  the  Esquimaux  curlew,  Numenius 
Borealis,  who  is  commonly  known,  heaven  knows  why,  as 
the  jutes  and  the  doe-bird ;  and  who,  feeding  often  on 
the  upland  in  company  with  the  golden  plover,  a  likeness 
of  whom  is  annexed,  is  a  bird  delicate,  succulent,  and 
well  flavored  on  the  table,  which  may  not  be  said  of  most 
of  the  breed,  which,  to  speak  truth,  are  for  the  most  part 
intolerably  rank  and  sedgy ;  though  there  be  exceptions, 
which  shall  be  named  with  honor. 
12* 


274  MANUAL  Foij  YOUNG  SPOKTSMEN. 


The  golden  plover,  Gharadius  marmoratus,  and  his 
brother  the  black-bellied  plover,  Charadius  Helveticus, 
whom  the  gunners  call  the  butt-headed,  follow.  Both  of 
these  birds  are  killed  on  the  bays,  but  are  of  far  superior 
quality  when  killed  inland,  on  high  sheepwalks  and  pas- 
tures ;  they  must  not,  however,  be  confounded  with  the 
Bartramian  sandpiper,  or  tattler,  the  most  delicious8  of  all 
American  birds,  not  even  excepting  the  canvas-back,  which 
goes  ge'nerally  by  the  name  of  the  u  upland  plover,"  while 
the  golden  plover  figures  as  the  "  frost  bird." 

Two  species  of  godwits  are  among  these  wading  visit- 
ors :  the  great  marbled  godwit,  Limosa  Fedea — a  regular 
though  rare  and  shy  "guest  on  the  sea-shores;  and  the 
Hudsonian  godwit,  Limosa  Hudsonica,  smaller  and  yet 


BAY-SHOOTING.  275 

rarer  than  the  preceding.  These  are  respectively  known 
to  the  gunners,  as  the  "  marliu,"  and  the  "  ring-tailed 
marlin,"  and  are  famous  for  their  watchfulness,  which  will 
scarce  admit  of  approach,  unless  one,  by  chance,  be 
brought  down  wounded,  when  the  flock  will  circle  around 
him,  plaintively  screaming,  and  will  even  allow  several 
shots  to  be  fired  into  them  in  succession. 

It  is  singular,  that  while  every  bird  of  all  the  tribe  has 
its  own  peculiar  name  among  the  baymen  and  gunners, 
who  make  confusion  worse  confounded  by  their  nomencla- 
tive barbarisms,  not  one  by  any  accident  stumbles  on  its 
true  denomination. 

Thus  the  red-breasted  sandpiper,  Tringa  Islandica, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  and  best  of  these  birds, 
and  a  general  favorite  with  the  gunners,  as  being  easily 
whistled  to  the  stools,  and  consequently  affording  great 
sport,  becomes  the  "  robin  snipe,"  owing  to  its  resem- 
blance to  the  migratory  thrush,  or  common  robin  of  this 
country.  In  winter,  the  plumage  of  this  bird  turns  gray 
above  and  pure  white  below,  when  he  becomes  the  "  white 
robin  snipe." 

In  like  manner,  the  red-backed  sandpiper,  Tringa 
Alpina,  becomes  the  "  black-breasted  plover,"  and  when 
his  plumage  is  changed  in  cold  weather,  the  "  winter  snipe." 
He  flies  quickly  in  crowded  flocks,  and  wheels  frequently 
as  if  by  a  signal,  when  great  numbers  are  often  killed  at  a 
shot. 

This  confusion  of  names  is  very  troublesome  to  the 
young  sportsman,  who  has  any  turn  for  natural  history — 
for  the  furtherance  of  which  beautiful  study  alone,  I  think 


276  MANUAL    FOB    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

bay  snipe-shooting  worth  the  pains — and  who  is  naturally 
nonplussed  at  finding  sandpipers  called,  as  it  may  happen, 
snipes  or  plovers,  and  other  species,  which  he  may  indis- 
tinctly remember  to  have  seen  otherwise  described,  passing 
under  some  barbarous  cognomen,  defying  the  skill  of 
(Edipus  to  decipher  its  sense  from  the  sound. 

The  next  considerable  family  are  the  tattlers,  three  of 
which  are  numerous  on  all  the  sea  bays  in  their  season — 
the  yellow-shanks  tattler,  or  lesser  yellow  legs,  Totanus 
Flavipes,  easily  decoyed,  and  affording  great  sport  when 
numerous;  the  tell-tale  tattler,  Totanus  Vociferus,  a 
far  larger  and  more  suspicious  bird,  detested  by  the  fowler, 
who  never  spares  him,  on  account  of  his  habit,  whence 
his  name,  of  alarming  all  the  marshes  and  hassocks  with 
his  shrill  shrieks ;  and  lastly,  the  semipalmated  tattler, 
Totanus  semipalmatus,  better  known  as  the  "  willet," 
which  name  is  given  to  him  in  imitation  of  his  cry,  which 
is  said  to  resemble  the  words  "  pill-will- willet,"  quickly 
repeated,  though,  for  my  own  part,  I  have  never  been  able 
to  trace  much  similarity  between  the  sound  of  written 
words  and  the  piercing  whistles  of  these  aerial  wanderers. 

The  willet  is  one  of  the  best  of  these  birds,  and  its 
eggs,  much  resembling  those  of  the  English  peewit,  or 
field  plover,  are  really  delicious.  This  is  a  shy  and  wary 
bird  in  open  and  exposed  situations,  but  is  easily  allured 
to  the  decoys. 

There  are  many  other  varieties  and  families  of  these 
birds,  turnstones,  sanderlings,  dunlins — usually  known 
as  ox-birds,  delicious  little  fellows,  like  flying  pats  of 
butter,  wheeling  in  countless  flocks  over  the  summits  of 


BAY-SHOOTING. 

the  curling  waves,  or  feeding  along  the  pebbled  shores  on 
which  the  surges  burst,  and  running  back,  scarcely  in 
time,  as  it  would  seem,  to  escape  the  deluge  of  the  spray 
when  it  breaks  and  rolls  up  the  shingle  in  crisp  and  foamy 
ripples — knots,  dottrels,  avosets,  and  others.  But  those 
I  have  named  above  are  of  the  most  consideration. 

The  mode  of  shooting  these  birds,  is  to  lie  concealed  in 
boats,  masked  with  seatrash  and  covered  by  reeds,  on  the 
edges  of  the  hassocks  where  the  snipe  feed,  in  the  small 
pools  left  among  the  grass  by  the  receding  tide.  On  the 
margin  of  these,  the  stools  or  decoys,  admirable  represen- 
tations of  the  different  species,  carved  in  pine  wood  and 
painted  so  as  to  have  deceived  the  unsuspicious  eye  of 
many  a  deluded  greenhorn,  are  set  up,  and  to  them  the 
passing  flocks  are  whistled  down  by  the  surpassing  skill  of 
the  baymen,  whose  unerring  sight  instantly  recognizes 
every  species,  by  the  motion  of  its  wings  and  the  manner 
of  its  flight,  when  the  birds  are  mere  air-drawn  specks 
against  the  dusky,  dawning  sky;  and  whose  imitative 
powers  call  it  down  by  so  perfect  a  simulation  of  its  cry, 
that  it  rarely  fails  to  answer  and  descend  to  the  wily 
cheats  which  tempt  it  to  destruction. 

To  these  decoys  are  added  the  killed  birds  as  fast  as 
they  are  gathered,  which  are  propped  up  with  sticks,  after 
a  manner  peculiar  to  the  amphibious  human  natives,  so 
as  to  complete  the  mystification  and  delusion  of  the  sur- 
vivors. 

To  me,  I  confess  the  sport  is  a  dull  one,  weary,  stale, 
unprofitable  ;  and  the  only  things  that  could  reconcile  me 
to  it,  are  the  chance  of  obtaining  rare  and  curious  ornitho- 


278  MANUAL    FOIl    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

logical  specimens,  and  admiration  for  the  skill  and  imita- 
tive talents  of  the  baymen. 

Sport,  to  me,  in  it  there  is  little.  If  the  birds  are 
scarce,  shy,  and  avoid  the  stools,  the  reek  of  the  mud- 
banks  and  stagnant  waters,  interspersed  with  savory  odors 
of  departed  king-crabs,  and  such  "like,  the  blazing  sunshine 
of  an  American  May  or  June,  reflected  from  the  smooth 
heaving  waters,  and,  above  all,  the  torturing  sting  of  the 
mosquitos,  are  hardly  compensated  by  a  few  scattering 
shots,  and  the  "  converse  high  "  of  my  friends,  as  aforesaid, 
the  Raynors,  Smiths  or  Veritys. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  the  flocks  come,  as  they  do  some- 
tunes,  countless  in  numbers  and  in  quick  succession,  there 
is  too  much  of  it.  It  becomes  butchery,  not  sport. 

Sportsmanship  proper  cannot  be  said  to  belong  to  it, 
unless — which  few  persons  do  except  the  professionals — one 
make  and  set  his  own  stools,  paddle  his  own  canoe,  and 
whistle  his  own  birds.  Then,  it  must  be  admitted,  there 
is  a  high  degree  of  science  and  of  skill  exhibited;  and 
where  the  success  is  dependent  entirely  on  the  science,  skill 
and  performance  of  the  performer,  it  cannot  be  denied 
that  there  is  sportsmanship,  and  the  achievement  of 
sportsmanship  is  of  necessity  sport.  . 

Beyond  this,  although  there  is  more  or  less  excitement 
in  watching,  expecting,  hoping  for  the  passing  flights,  and 
triumph  more  or  less  in  planting  a  successful  volley,  the 
cramped  position,  the  constrained  absence  of  motion,  and 
above  all,  the  want  of  dogs,  greatly  detract  from  the 
pleasure. 

This  sport  occurs,  however,  at  a  time  when  there  is  no 


BAY-SHOOTING.  279 

other ;  and  if  one  be  a  resident  on  the  barren,  sea-beaten 
shores,  or  be  wearied  to  death  of  the  city,  and  desirous  of 
change  at  the  risk  of  tedium,  why,  it  is  well  to  try  the  bay 
snipe. 

The  proper  weapon  for  shooting  of  this  kind  is  a  double- 
barrelled  gun  of  ten  or  twelve  pounds  weight,  and  corres- 
ponding gauge,  which  will  do  the  best  execution  at  flocks. 
With  such  a  piece,  coarse  large-grained  powder  of  the 
diamond  grain,  from  Pigou  and  Wilke's  Dartford  mills, 
and  No.  4  or  5  shot,  should  be  used. 

Such  a  gun,  however,  not  being  in  the  armory,  an 
ordinary  fowling-piece  of  14  gauge  will  do  its  work,  killing 
its  single  shots  quite  as  far,  though  not  telling  such  a  tale 
with  flocks,  as  the  heavier  gun.  In  this  case,  however, 
No.  5  is  the  largest  shot  that  must  be  used,  since  the  load 
which  such  a  piece  will  advantageously  carry,  will  not 
number  pellets  enough  of  a  larger  size  to  cover  a  circle 
large  enough  to  insure  success. 

When  these  birds  are  flying  singly,  they  often  shoot 
along  at  a  great  rate,  and  it  is  necessary  either  to  make 
great  allowance,  shooting,  for  the  most  part,  nearly  a  yard 
ahead  of  them,  or  to  keep  the  gun  continually  moving  in 
the  direction  of  the  bird's  flight,  even  after  the  trigger  is 
drawn,  until  the  charge  has  actually  left  the  barrel. 

The  latter  is  the  old  style,  and  is  still  practised  by  the 
baymcn,  and  by  all  old-school  sportsmen.  With  fliut-aud- 
steel  locks  it  was  indispensable,  and  though  the  necessity 
is  superseded  by  the  rapidity  of  fire  in  the  percussion  gun, 
it  is  by  many  considered  the  most  telling  style  for  bay- 
snipe  aud  wild-fowl  shooting. 


280  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  it  is  not  so ;  but  it  is  a 
serious  objection  that,  when  once  acquired,  this  style  of 
shooting  is  not  easily  shaken  off,  but  is  carried  to  the 
upland,  where  it  is  of  infinite  detriment  and  disservice. 
It  entails  a  slow,  poking,  pottering  method,  utterly  in- 
compatible with  quick,  dashing,  clean  shooting,  and  there- 
fore, if  therefore  only,  I  would  eschew  it  altogether. 

Prodigious  slaughter  is  recorded  as  having  been  occa- 
sionally done  upon  these  migratory  tribes : — "  a  noted 
gunner,"  says  Mr.  Geraud,  in  his  admirable  work  on  the 
birds  of  Long  Island,  "  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  Bellport, 
informed  me  that  he  killed  one  hundred  and  six  yellow- 
legs,  by  discharging  both  barrels  of  his  gun  into  a  flock, 
while  they  were  sitting  along  the  beach.  This  is  a  higher 
number  than  I  should  have  hit  upon,  had  I  been  asked  to 
venture  an  opinion  on  the  result  of  a  very  unusually  suc- 
cessful shot.  Still  it  is  entitled  to  credit.  Wilson  speaks 
of  eighty-five  red-breasted  snipe  being  killed  at  one  dis- 
charge of  a  musket.  Audubon  mentions  that  he  was 
present,  when  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  were  killed 
by  discharging  three  barrels.  Mr.  Brasher,  during  the 
month  of  May  of  last  year,  at  Egg  Harbor,  killed  thirty- 
three  red-breasted  snipe,  by  discharging  both  barrels  into 
a  flock  as  they  were  passing  him.  This  number,  although 
small  in  comparison  with  those  mentioned  above,  is  large, 
and  exceeds  any  exploit  of  my  own,  either  with  this  or  the 
former  species — the  yellow-leg — of  both  of  which  I  have 
killed  a  goodly  number,  but  do  not  think  it  important  to 
tax  my  memory  with  the  number  shot  on  anyone  occasion,  to 
illustrate  further  the  gregarious  habits  of  this  familiar  bird." 


BAY-SHOOTING. 


2S1 


These  examples,  of  course,  must  be  regarded  as  chance 
occurrences,  and  are  not  to  be  looked  for  as  likely  to  befall 
the  sportsman  of  to-day.  Still,  if  he  try  the  sport  in  the 
right  season,  wind  and  weather  favoring,  he  will  not  be 
unusually  fortunate  if  he  fill  a  bushel  basket  with  the  pro- 
ceeds of  a  day's  shooting  in  the  bays  and  on  the  beaches. 

The  bulk  of  these  birds  have  left  the  seaboard  of  the 
United  States  by  the  end  of  June  at  the  latest;  in  the 
month  of  August  they  return  from  their  Northern  breeding 
places,  and  remain  with  us  until  late  in  November ;  being 
like  the  English  snipe,  much  tamer  and  more  settled  in 
their  habits  than  in  the  spring,  and  consequently  affording 
far  more  sport  to  their  pursuer.  They  are,  however,  for 
the  most  part,  less  troubled  at  this  season  than  in  spring 
by  legitimate  sportsmen,  owing  to  the  fact,  that  the  real 
shooting  season  has  commenced,  and  that  game  more 
genuine  and  more  attractive  is  to  be  had  on  all  sides. 


WOODCOCK-SHOOTING. 

IN  every  part  of  the  North  American  States  and  Provinces 
where  the  American  woodcock,  lately  classed  as  scolopax 
minor,  but  more  recently  erected  by  naturalists  into  a 
distinct  family  as  microptera  Americana,  breeds  and 
rears  its  young,  law,  and  custom  where  there  are  no  specific 
laws  on  the  subject,  have  authorized  the  killing  it  on  the 
first  or  fourth  of  July.  *- 

There  is  probably  not  a  single  sportsman  in  the  coun- 
try, who  does  not  deprecate  the  practice,  and  desire  to  see 
it  abolished ;  but,  in  the  first  place,  it  appears  to  be  impossi- 
ble to  get  legislative  assemblies  to  look  upon  game  laws 
in  any  other  light  than  that  of  class  legislation,  statutes 
intended  to  guard  the  amusements  of  the  few  against  the 
rights  of  the  many,  than  which  no  idea  can  be  more  erro- 


WOODCOCK-SlKX)TI>sG.  283 

neous — and  no  less  impossible  to  command  respect  or 
obedience  to  any  law  passed  on  the  subject,  by  the  masses. 

The  fiat  of  wanton  destruction  has  gone  forth  against 
all  the  wid  inhabitants  of  the  woods,  the  fields,  the 
marshes,  and  the  waters,  as  irrevocably  as  that  against  the 
Red  Indian.  For  profit,  for  pleasure,  for  mere  recklessness 
and  the  love  of  useless  slaughter,  the  work  of  extermina- 
tion is  going  on  eastward,  and  westward,  from  the  salmon 
rivers  and  trout  streams  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova 
Scotia,  to  the  prairies  and  plains  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains. 

Many  years  will  not  elapse  before  no  species  of  game, 
whether  bird,  beast,  or  fish,  perhaps,  no  wild  animal,  not 
so  much  even  as  a  thrush  or  a  blue-bird  will  be  left  to 
enliven  the  field  or  the  forest ;  and  then,  too  late,  when  the 
healthful  toil  of  the  sportsman  has  no  longer  an  object, 
and  the  table  of  the  luxurious  epicure  is  deprived  of  its 
choicest  dainties,  America  will  bewail  its  shortsightedness, 
neither  more  nor  less  than  that  of  the  clown  who  slew  the 
goose  with  the  eggs  of  gold. 

In  the  earliest  and  most  favorable  seasons,  summer 
woodcocks  are  at  best  but  half  grown,  feeble  on  the  wing, 
slow  in  flight,  easy  to  be  knocked  over  by  the  merest 
novice  with  any  sort  of  gun  and  any  sort  of  ammunition, 
over  any  dog,  or  no  dog  at  all.  • 

In  late  seasons,  or  those  wherein  June  floods  have 
deluged  the  lowlands  and  drowned  the  first  broods,  the 
parent  birds  are  busy  in  July  either  actually  hatching  or 
tending  the  second  brood,  so  that  in  this  case  they  are 
actually  slaughtered  in  the  breeding  season. 


284  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Now  woodcock  invariably  return  year  after  year,  if 
unmolested,  to  the  same  wood  to  breed,  as  do  salmon  to 
the  same  river.  Therefore  it  follows,  that  if,  year  after 
year,  nine  tenths  of  all  the  birds,  old  and  young,  are  shot 
off,  as  they  invariably  are  in  the  present  system  of  sum- 
mer shooting,  the  breeding  stock  must  in  the  end  be 
wholly  cut  off,  and  the  race  must  become  extinct. 

Nor  is  this  theory ;  for  it  is  proved  too  true  by  experi- 
ence ;  and  over  vast  tracts  of  country,  where  woodcock 
swarmed  some  twenty  years  since,  an  ostrich  is  now  a 
scarce  less  likely  bird,  to  encounter. 

Moreover,  the  extreme  heat  of  the  season,  and  the 
extraordinary  difficulty  of  preserving  the  birds  when  killed, 
in  fit  condition  for  the  table,  renders  July  shooting  not 
only  irksomely  laborious,  but  useless. 

The  only  reason  that  can  be  adduced  for  persevering  in 
this  destructive  and  foolish  law,  is  the  plea,  that,  if  wood- 
cock shooting  in  July  were  abolished,  there  would  be  no 
July  shooting  of  any  kind.  Be  it  so  !  we  can  conceive  it 
possible  for  the  most  ardent  of  sportsmen  to  exist  one 
month  in  the  year,  or  say  two,  for  February  is  almost 
equally  barred  out  with  July,  without  shooting,  especially 
as  beating  low,  swampy  woodlands  reeking  with  moist  heat 
and  swarming  with  mosquitoes  under  a  sun  at  ninety 
degrees  in"  the  shade,  is  not  altogether  what  it  is  cracked 
up  to  be  ;  though  very  young  men  may  rejoice  in  it,  and 
very  strong  men  battle  through  it,  day  after  day,  from 
sunrise  unto  sunset. 

As  it  stands,  however,  law  and  custom  sanctioning  it, 


WOODCOCK-SHOOTING.  285 

woodcock-shooting  in  July  will  probably  prevail,  while 
woodcock  can  be  found  to  shoot. 

The  early  morning  and  the  latter  afternoon,  are,  so  far 
as  comfort  both  of  dog  and  man  prescribes,  the  preferable 
time  of  day  for  pursuing  this  sport ;  though  .in  other 
respects,  as  the  woodcock,  unlike  the  quail  and  ruffed 
grouse,  feeds  and  lies  up  for  rest  on  the  same  ground,  and 
in  moist  shadowy  woodlands  is  more  or  less  on  the  move, 
and  to  be  found  all  day  long,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  conse- 
quence at  what  hour  they  are  hunted. 

Than  a  July  woodcock,  when  he  is  first  flushed  over 
dogs,  there  is  no  easier  bird  in  the  world  to  kill,  the  only 
possible  difficulty  arising  from  the  thick  coverts  in  which 
he  often  lies,  and  the  fulness  of  the  summer  verdure. 

The  old  birds  flap  up  lazily,  hovering  their  half-grown 
broods,  and,  unwilling  to  desert  them,  will  often  drop  again 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  muzzle  of  a  gun  which  has  just 
been  discharged  at  them ;  and  the  young  rise  like  owls, 
often  fly  almost  into  the  shooter's  face,  so  that  they  might 
be  knocked  down  with  the  gun,  and  from  pure  inability  to 
sustain  a  long  flight,  generally  can  be -found  again  if  missed 
within  thirty  yards.  It  is  not  once  in  twenty  times  that 
they  will  quit  the  covert  in  which  they  are  bred,  and  fly 
across  the  open  to  a  neighboring  woodland. 

When  they  lie  in  thick  covert,  it  is  well,  as  soon  as  the 
dog  points,  that  one  of  the  shooters  should  select  an  open 
spot  or  glade,  where  he  can  command  the  bird  when  he 
rises ;  as  it  is  more  than  probable  that  he,  whose  point  it  is, 
will  hardly  get  a  shot  at  the  bird,  unless  he  be  a  very 
quick  workman  indeed  in  thick  covert.  There  will  be  no 


286  MANUAL    FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

great  difficulty  in  this,  as  woodcock,  early  in  the  season,  lie 
extremely  hard,  and  will  not  ordinarily  take  wing  until 
they  are  actually  forced  to  do  so. 

Colonel  Hutchinson,  in  his  admirable  work  on  dog- 
breaking,  recommends  that  every  dog  should  be  trained  to 
advance  towards  his  master  and  flush  his  bird,  on  a  signal 
given  him  by  a  beckon,  or  inward  wafture  of  the  hand, 
and  instances  the  great  advantage  to  be  derived  from 
such  a  habit,  both  in  wild  snipe-shooting  in  the  open,  and 
in  American  cock-shooting  in  heavy  covert. 

I  have  only  to  say,  that  I  have  never  seen  a  dog  broken 
to  this  movement.  I  will  not  say  that  it  cannot  be  done, 
for  I  am  well  aware  that,  by  a  patient,  persevering,  clever, 
steady  breaker,  there  is  scarcely  any  thing,  short  of  speak- 
ing, which  an  intelligent  and  good-tempered  dog  may  not 
be  brought  to  do ;  and  there  is  no  doubt,  but  that,  by 
implicitly  following  the  Colonel's  directions,  this  is  one  of 
the  things  that  can  be  taught;  but  there  can  be  little 
question  that  it  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  points  to 
which  properly  to  educate  an  animal,  since,  when  he  is 
once  accustomed  to  be  so  waved  onward,  he  will  uncon- 
sciously become  so  impatient,  that  he  will  be  sorely  tempt- 
ed to  anticipate  the  signal,  and  rush  in. 

For  my  own  part,  looking  above  all  to  the  paramount 
necessity  of  keeping  the  dog  steady  and  stanch,  I  have 
leaned  to  the  habit  of  never  allowing  my  dogs  themselves 
to  flush  their  game,  under  any  circumstances. 

When  at  point,  I  have  always  gone  in,  or  gone  up  to 
them,  and  then  made  them  road  on  foot  by  foot,  myself 


WOODCOCK-SHOOTING.  287 

keeping  step  with  them,  until  the  bird  has  sprung,  seeing 
to  it  that  they  then  instantly  "  drop !  " 

This  course  has  its  disadvantages.  One  certainly  loses 
some  shots  by  it,  and  has  to  take  others  just  as  they  come ; 
whereas  otherwise  one  may  select  his  own  ground,  so  as 
always  to  be  sure  of  a  fair  shot.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
one  avoids  the  great  danger  of  leading  his  dog,  step  by 
step,  into  error,  and  teaching  him  to  commit  a  fault. 

The  moment  a  dog,  as  it  seems  to  me,  comes  to  expect 
that  he  shall  flush  the  bird  himself,  and  to  regard  flush- 
ing as  the  ultimate  end,  I  fear  he  will  speedily  become  so 
over-eager  in  this  respect,  as  to  shorten  his  point,  and  per- 
haps at  last  neglect  it  altogether,  when  his  master's  eye  is 
not  on  him. 

Every  one  knows  that  the  best  and  steadiest  dogs, 
when  by  chance  they  get  out  of  range  of  the  gun  in  large 
woodlands,  and  come  on  the  point,  where  they  are  not 
seen,  become  so  impatient  after  standing  awhile,  that, 
when  the  gun  does  not  come  to  their  relief,  they  will 
flush  their  game,  and  go  on  hunting  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. This  is  one  of  the  drawbacks  to  hunting  pointers 
and  setters  in  covert,  for  every  time  they  get  out  of  sight 
and  do  this  thing,  as  they  must  do  it,  or  stand  at  point 
half  the  day  until  by  chance  discovered,  they  are  rendered 
so  much  more  likely  to  do  it  again ;  and  they  often  come  at 
length  to  such  a  degree  of  cunning,  as  invariably  to  flush 
every  bird,  running  over  it  without  taking  the  slightest 
notice,  when  not  in  sight  of  the  master ;  though,  when 
under  his  eye,  they  will  point  every  thing,  none  more 
stanchly. 


288  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

For  this  reason,  also,  I  consider  it  the  duty  of  the  gun 
always  to  be  up  with  the  dogs,  and  never  to  allow  them  to 
hunt  wide  or  independent. 

I  have  seen  men  pride  themselves  on  being  able  to  sit 
down  on  a  post  of  the  fence,  while  their  dogs  were  beating 
a  fifty-acre  cornfield,  in  the  idea  that,  if  they  should  point, 
it  would  be  easy  to  get  up  to  them  before  the  game  should 
rise.  I  have  also  seen  dogs  hied  in,  like  foxhounds,  to 
beat  heavy  coppice  or  covert,  while  the  shooter  walks 
quietly  along  the  bank,  on  the  look-out  to  shoot  the  wood- 
cock as  they  top  the  bushes.  This,  I  submit,  is  legiti- 
mate, and  beautiful  spaniel  work,  but  is  utterly  ruinous 
to  pointers  and  setters. 

A  friend  of  mine,  and  otherwise  a  good  sportsman, 
once  told  me  with  exultation  that  his  setters  would  beat 
the  heaviest  and  most  impenetrable  woodcock  cripple, 
flushing  and  driving  out  every  bird  to  him,  as  he  walked 
along  the  outside,  like  spaniels,  and  yet  would  hunt  stead- 
ily and  point  stanchly  in  the  open.  He  was  much  aston- 
ished at  my  telling  him  that  I  did  not  hold  such  dogs 
worth  the  rope  that  should  hang  them.  Yet  such  is  my 
deliberate  opinion. 

I  do  not  consider  that  to  bag  the  most  game  any  how, 
is  the  greatest  sport,  or  the  object ;  but  doing  it  in  beauti- 
ful style,  with  the  animals  showing  their  qualities  and  per- 
formance in  the  highest  possible  degree ;  and  to  get  them 
to  do  this,  one  must  occasionally  sacrifice  a  broken-winged 
bird  and  lose  a  fair  shot. 

The  great  injury  which  accrues  to  dogs  from  getting 
off  into  the  woods  alone,  and  hunting  on  their  own  account 


WOODCOCK-SHOOTING.  289 

— as  some  old  dogs  are  exceedingly  fond  of  doing,  never 
missing  an  opportunity  to  steal  away  when  they  can  do  so 
unobserved — arises  from  this  fact ;  that  after  they  have 
found  and  pointed  their  bird,  they  must  of  necessity  flush 
it  themselves,  and  go  on  hunting,  without  dropping  to 
charge,  until  they  find  another,  when  the  same  process  is 
repeated. 

Nothing  can  prevent  the  best  dog  from  being  in  the 
end  irretrievably  ruined  by  this  practice;  and  I  confess  it 
to  be  my  own  opinion,  even  in  contradiction  to  so  distin- 
guished an  authority  as  Col.  Hutchinson,  that  no  dog 
should  ever  be  allowed  or  encouraged  to  flush  or  to  hunt 
where  his  master  is  not  close  up  with  him,  and  able  to 
overlook  his  every  movement,  and  shoot  at  every  bird  he 
points,  or  which  rises  wild  of  him. 

Some  persons  recommend  that  no  bird  shall  ever  be 
fired  at,  but  shall  be  allowed  to  go  away,  which  the  dog 
carelessly  or  wantonly  flushes ;  which  is  only  a  corollary 
from  my  axiom,  as  tending  farther  to  impress  on  the  dog 
the  culpability  of  flushing.  I  do  not  consider  this  extreme 
measure  necessary,  but  I  think  it  corroborates  my  view  of 
the  subject. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  as  a  dog  can  be  broke  to  point 
"  dead,"  and  then  "  fetch"  when  ordered  to  do  so,  so  can 
he  be  broke  to  point  live  game,  and  "  flush  "  at  word  of 
command.  In  one  respect,  however,  the  analogy  fails 
here.  For  when  the  game  is  killed  and  pointed  "  dead," 
it  is  nine  times  out  of  ten  immediately  under  the  eye  and 
control  of  the  shooter,  whereas  the  cases  of  finding  the 
live  bird  in  sight  are  exceptional. 
13 


290  MANUAL    FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

I  therefore  advise  all  young  shooters,  who  desire  to 
become  good  shots  and  good  sportsmen,  always  to  go  into 
covert,  even  the  worst  covert,  with  their  dogs ;  to  keep  as 
close  to  their  dogs,  and  make  the  dogs  keep  as  close  to 
them,  as  possible ;  never  to  allow  their  dogs  to  flush,  but 
always  to  put  up  their  game  for  themselves ;  never  to  let 
their  dogs  do  wrongly,  without  rebuke  ;  and  above  all,  never 
to  do  wrongly  themselves,  for  the  sake  of  bagging  a  bird 
or  two  the  more. 

For  every  easy  shot  that  the  beginner  will  lose,  he  will 
be  the  gainer  by  so  much  as  he  learns  to  kill  a  difficult 
shot ;  and  as  the  American  woodcock,  in  the  open,  flushed 
over  dogs,  is  as  easy  a  shot  as  any  that  flies,  so  even 
thick  covert  cannot  make  him  a  very  difficult  shot. 

The  only  advantage  that  I  can  perceive  in  summer 
woodcock-shooting  is,  that  it  does  unquestionably  te  ach  one 
how  to  kill  snap  shots,  and  to  bring  down  birds,  firing  at 
them  unseen,  by  calculation,  in  a  style  which  can  hardly 
be  acquired  in  any  other  school. 

Summer  woodcock  almost  invariably  fly  straight,  rising 
gradually  till  they  have  topped  the  bushes,  if  in  close 
covert,  and  then  go  away  nearly  in  a  horizontal  line,  until 
they  choose  to  alight.  Their  method  of  doing  this  is 
peculiar ;  they  never  gradually  decline,  lowering  and  lower- 
ing their  flight  as  they  near  the  earth,  like  the  quail,  nor 
pitch  down  at  an  acuter  angle  from  their  original  line  of 
flight,  like  the  snipe ;  but  invariably  make  a  short,-  quick 
zigzag  turn  to  right  or  left,  and  then  dart  downward  in  an 
instant,  and  run  off  swiftly  five  or  six  yards,  before  they 
settle  either  to  feeding  or  to  lie  up. 


WOODCOCK-SHOOTING.  291 

The  knowledge  of  this  trick  is  essential  to  marking 
correctly,  arid  to  finding  the  bird  when  marked  in. 

Iii  thick  coverts,  always  cast  the  eye  forward  to  the 
next  weak  or  open  spot  in  the  direction  of  the  bird's  flight, 
and  higher  or  lower,  as  he  is  declining  or  rising,  whether 
to  get  a  snap  shot  at  a  live  bird,  to  mark  one  supposed  to 
be  hit  and  falling,  or  to  follow  up  one  which  has  gone  away 
unhurt. 

I  have  recovered  many  dead  birds,  which  my  companions 
have  asserted  not  to  be  killed,  by  satisfying  myself  that 
they  did  not  cross  some  weak  open  place  immediately 
ahead  of  their  course  when  last  seen ;  and  I  have  killed 
many,  by  waiting  until  they  should  cross  some  such  open- 
ing, in  otherwise  impervious  covert,  and  then  letting  them 
have  it,  just  in  the  nick  of  time. 

In  summer,  birds  fly  so  slowly,  and  the  ground  is  so 
close  in  which  one  ordinarily  shoots,  which  renders  it  im- 
possible ever  to  make  long  shots,  that  to  give  much  allow- 
ance for  flight  is  unnecessary ;  an  inch  or  two  in  snap 
cross  shots  is  the  utmost  that  can  be  given.  It  is,  how- 
ever, sometimes  advisable  to  avoid  tearing  the  birds  all  to 
pieces  with  the  shot,  to  lay  the  muzzle  a  little  wide  of 
them,  so  that  they  shall  be  on  the  edge  rather  than  in  the 
centre  of  the  circle  of  missiles.  A  very  small  blow  brings 
down  a  summer  woodcock,  and  it  is  rare  indeed  that  one 
rises  a  second  time  after  being  wounded. 

As  to  choice  of  ground,  much  depends  on  the  country, 
and  much  on  the  season. 

In  the  southern  part  of  New  Jersey,  in  Salem  and 
Gloucester  Counties,  where  there  is  no  autumn  shooting  of 


292  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

any  consequence,  the  birds  lie  in  the  wide  open  meadows 
among  rushes,  bogs,  waterflags,  and  the  plant  commonly 
known  as  skunk-cabbage,  where  there  is  not  a  bush  or 
brake  within  miles,  and  are  rarely  found  in  the  woods.  In 
some  districts,  especially  in  dry  weather,  one  must  look  for 
them  in  the  thickest,  deepest,  and  most  tangled  brakes  of 
alder  and  even  briers,  where  there  is  a  muddy  bottom  ;  in 
others,  they  will  be  found  in  moist  grassy  meadow  sides, 
where  there  are  springs  and  rivulets,  and  patches  of  wil- 
low, alder,  and  other  water-loving  shrubs,  and  this  is  the 
prettiest  ground  in  which  to  find  them.  Of  this  nature 
was  the  finest  portion  of  my  favorite  old  shooting  grounds 
in  Orange  County,  New  York,  and  Sussex  County,  New 
Jersey,  although  that  magnificent  range  contained  lying 
of  all  sorts  and  feeding  until  late  in  winter. 

Again,  in  mountainous  districts  they  love  the  swales 
and  little  valleys,  both  at  the  base  of  the  hills  along  the 
water-courses,  and  those  smaller  hollows  through  which  the 
little  upland  rills  percolate  through  stones  and  gravel, 
leaving  a  rich  alluvial  deposit  of  black  vegetable  mould, 
rich  with  ferns  and  water  plants. 

Lastly  in  level  countries,  near  large  rivers,  as  on  the 
banks  of  the  Wall  Kyll  in  Orange  County,  and  of  the 
Passaic  in  the  Big  Piece,  and  at  Chatham,  they  haunt  wide 
open  woodlands,  where  the  great  pin  oak  or  maple  trees 
stand  fifty  feet  apart,  and  all  the  rich  alluvial  soil  is  free 
from  underwood,  but  covered  with  succulent  short  grass. 

In  very  wet  seasons,  when  all  the  low  woodlands  have 
been  submerged  and  drowned  with  water,  woodcock  will 
be  found  on  hill-sides  among  second  growth  and  saplings, 


WOODCOCK-SHOOTING.  293 

especially  I  think  of  chestnuts,  contiguous  to  wet  bottoms 
and  swampy  feeding  ground.  Thick  maple  swamps  in  flat 
lands  adjacent  to  wide  meadows,  and  large,  slow-flowing 
streams  are  always  favorable ;  and  I  have  found  them  in 
impracticable  white  cedar  swamps,  among  underwood  of 
rhododendrons  and  calmias,  which  the  multitude  call 
sheep-laurels. 

Hot,  dry  weather,  is  the  most  favorable  for  July  shoot- 
ing, as  it  forces  the  birds  to  congregate  in  numbers  in  all 
the  wet,  shady  places,  so  that  they  are  easily  and  surely 
found. 

Wet  weather  is  the  worst,  as  they  can  live  and  feed 
every  where,  in  highlands,  in  lowlands,  in  ploughed  fields 
or  pastures,  in  any  and  every,  likely  or  unlikely,  place 
equally  well ;  so  that  they  can  only  be  found  few  in  number 
and  dispersed  over  large  tracts  of  land,  making  the  search 
for  them  an  absolute  toil,  in  lieu  of  a  pleasure.  In  hot, 
dry  weather,  when  they  abound,  they  will  often  run  out, 
especially  in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  toward  afternoon, 
late  in  the  season,  into  moist  low-lying  cornfields  by  the 
woodsides,  in  which,  when  found,  they  are  the  most 
difficult  shooting  in  the  world,  as  they  always  fly  down 
the  rows  without  topping  the  corn. 

Many  persons  believe  that  when  the  woodcock  dis- 
appear, as  they  always  do  in  August  at  the  moulting 
season,  not  reappearing  in  numbers  until  the  cold  season 
commences  in  October,  they  merely  retreat  to  the  corn- 
fields. I  am  satisfied  that  this  is  not  so  ;  a  few  may  linger 
in  such  places,  but  of  the  great  mass  there  is  unquestion- 
ably a  short  summer  migration;  and,  although  I  have 


294  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

heard  tatt  stories  of  great  sport  had  in  cornfields,  I  have 
yet  got  to  see  it. 

For  the  rest,  when  woodcock  are  not  to  be  found  in 
one  sort  of  ground,  they  must  be  looked  for  in  another, 
and  are  sometimes  found  most  plentiful  in  what  we  should 
probably,  at  first  sight,  pronounce  the  most  unlikely. 

Patience  and  perseverance  are  the  only  sure  means  of 
obtaining  ultimate  success,  and  after  all  the  best  teaching 
in  the  world,  a  few  grains  of  hard-earned  experience  are 
worth  the  whole  of  it.  This  is  the  great  charm  and 
delight  of  field-sports,  that  the  longer  one  pursues  them, 
the  more  he  learns  of  their  theory  as  well  as  their  practice ; 
and  that  the  more  he  learns,  the  more  he  finds  that  he  has 
yet  to  learn. 

Each  new  fact  discovered  points  some  new  principle  to 
be  investigated,  and  paves  the  way  to  some  yet  newer  dis- 
covery; so  that  of  them  it  may  be  truly  said,  with  but  a 
little  variation,  what  Enobarbus  said  of  Cleopatra, 

"  Age  cannot  wither  them,  nor  custom  stale 
Their  infinite  variety." 

In  proof  of  which  it  only  needs  here  to  say,  that  when 
we  again  come  to  speak  of  the  woodcock  in  the  maturity  of 
his  birdhood,  in  the  lusty  days  of  autumn,  we  shall  speak 
of  a  different  biped  alogether,  and  one  who,  instead  of 
being  an  easy  victim  to  every  owner  of  a  five-dollar  pop- 
gun, will  give  work  to  a  nimble  finger,  a  sure  eye,  and  a 
trusty  gun,  and  confer  lustre  on  the  sportsman  who  can 
bring  him  to  bag  unerringly,  in  style. 

All  the  rules  given  above  in  regard  to  decorum,  and 


WOODCOOK-S  HOOTIN  G .  295 

deliberation  in  shooting,  and  avoidance  of  danger  through 
rashness  and  unsteadiness,  hold  good  here ;  and  in  no  shoot- 
ing is  it  more  necessary  to  hold  straight  than  it  is  in 
summer  cock-shooting,  when  your  mark  is  there  but  for  a 
second,  and  then  gone. 

It  has  been  and  probably  will  always  continue  a  matter 
of  doubt  and  dispute  among  sportsmen,  what  becomes  of 
the  woodcock  at  the  period  of  his  moult,  which  occurs — 
happily  for  the  continuance  of  the  breed,  since  otherwise 
they  would  be  exterminated  within  a  single  year — imme- 
diately after  the  first  month  of  summer  shooting ;  say 
early  in  August ;  after  which  they  vanish  from  their  usual 
haunts,  and  are  to  be  found  neither  in  upland  nor  in  low- 
land, until  the  early  frosts  bring  them  back  full  grown  and 
full  feathered  in  time  for  autumn  shooting. 

My  opinion  remains  unchanged  on  this  subject,  since 
first  I  wrote  on  it,  above  twenty  years  ago,  that  there  is 
an  actual  migration  of  the  birds  yet  farther  northward. 
That  some  few  birds  linger  in  wet  spots  and  in  moist  corn- 
fields is  true ;  but  to  maintain  that  all  the  thousands  of 
cock,  which  are  found  here  in  the  fall,  remain  all  the  sea- 
son under  our  noses  in  the  maize  fields,  is  simply  absurd. 
Those  who  desire  to  investigate  the  subject  may  look  to 
my  Field  Sports,  vol.  1,  p.  191. 


GROUSE-SHOOTING  ON  THE  PRAIRIES. 


OF  Grouse,  there  are  six  distinct  varieties  in  the  United 
States  and  British  Provinces,  although  but  three  of  these 
are  ordinarily  shot  by  sportsmen,  or  brought  into  the  mar- 
ket. They  are  the  ruffed  grouse,  commonly  known  east  of 
the  Delaware  River  as  the  partridge,  and  south  of  it  as  the 
pheasant ;  the  spotted,  or  Canada  grouse,  known  as  the 
spruce  partridge ;  and  the  willow  grouse,  known  as  the 
red-necked  partridge.  These  three  birds  are  all  wood- 
haunters,  and  the  two  latter  species  are  found  only  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Maine,  the  wilderness  of  the  eastern 
[British  Provinces,  and  northward  so  far  as  to  Labrador. 
The  first,  or  ruffed  grouse,  has  a  wide  geographical  range, 
being  found  in  all  the  wooded  regions  of  North  America, 


GROUSE-SHOOTING    ON    THE    PBAIKIES.  297 

from  Lake  Superior  and  Texas  to  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  It  is 
a  fine  bird  on  the  table,  but  rarely  affords  much  sport  over 
setters  and  pointers,  as  it  is  a  wild,  shy,  rambling  species, 
and  has  a  knack  of  running  far  ahead  of  the  dogs, 
when  pointed,  and  of  rising  entirely  out  of  shot.  It 
flies  strongly  and  swiftly,  taking  wing  when  disturbed  with 
an  impetuous  whirring  rush,  that  is  apt  to  disturb  the 
nerves  of  a  novice ;  and,  as  it  for  the  most  part  takes  to 
the  tree,  on  being  roused,  it  cannot  generally  be  found  a 
second  time.  The  method  of  shooting  it,  usually  prac- 
tised by  the  inhabitants  of  districts  where  it  abounds,  is 
to  flush  it  with  curs  or  spaniels,  which  chase  it,  yelping  in 
pursuit,  until  it  takes  the  tree,  and  then  bay  at  the  trunk, 
until  the  gunner  comes  up  and  shoots  it  sitting.  No 
sportsman,  of  coursc?  condescends  to  such  butchery ;  for 
which  the  only  excuse  is,  that  in  thick  cedar  and  tamarisk 
swamps,  where  it  frequents,  it  can  hardly  be  shot  fairly. 
Occasionally,  where  underwood  is  heavy  and  the  country 
level,  they  will  lie  to  the  point ;  and  in  ravines,  by  hunting 
with  three  guns,  two  of  which  keep  well  in  advance  of 
the  dogs  on  the  ridges,  while  the  third  hunts  along  the 
hollows,  shots  may  be  got.  I  have  never,  however,  found 
it  pay  to  hunt  for  them  exclusively,  as  they  are  the  most 
rambling  of  all  birds,  not  adhering,  like  quail,  to  the 
fields  and  feeding  grounds  in  the  vicinity  of  which  they 
are  hatched,  but  wandering  over  leagues  of  wood  and 
mountain,  so  that  the  pack  which  is  seen  to-day  at  sunset, 
may  be  twenty  miles  off  at  noon  to-morrow.  The  erro- 
neous legislation  on  the  subject  of  this  species,  still  farther 
diminishes  the  possibility  of  sport.  By  the  twentieth  of 
13* 


298  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

August  the  young  broods  are  fully  feathered,  above  three 
parts  grown,  and  in  all  respects  as  fit  for  the  gun  as  young 
quail  two  months  later.  At  this  time  they  are  found  in 
coveys,  under  care  of  the  old  birds,  and  where  they  lie  in 
open  hanging  woods  on  hill-sides,  with  an  undergrowth  of 
cranberries,  fern  and  winter-green,  a  kind  of  ground  to 
which  they  are  much  attached,  they  might  afford  fine  sport. 
The  law,  however,  in  the  Northern  States,  prohibits  the 
killing  of  them  until  the  first  of  November,  when  they  have 
dispersed  themselves,  and  are  only  to  be  found  singly,  and 
as  wild  as  hawks. 

It  is  needless  to  comment  on  the  childish  incongruity 
of  game-laws  which  allow  woodcock,  a  weak  bird,  which 
requires  the  utmost  protection,  to  be  shot  half-fledged  in 
July,  and  will  not  permit  the  ruffed  grouse,  a  strong  wild 
bird,  admirably  able  to  protect  itself,  to  be  killed,  until  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  kill  it  at  all. 

To  hunt  it  with  any  chance  of  success,  exceedingly 
stanch  dogs  are  requisite,  which  will  point  dead  the  in- 
stant they  strike  they  scent ;  for  if  they  attempt  to  road 
up  to  the  game,  it  is  certain  to  run,  and  rise  out  of  dis- 
tance. 

In  general  autumn  shooting,  No.  8  shot,  which  is  that 
most  recommended  for  all  game,  will  bring  it  down  from  a 
close-carrying,  hard-hit!  ing  gun  at  40  yards  ;  but  where  no 
other  game  is  expected,  I  should  advise  No.  6,  or  Eley's 
blue  cartridges. 

Few  birds  get  on  the  wing  more  rapidly,  or  fly  more 
awiftly  than  the  ruffed  grouse ;  and  when  they  have  got 
full  headway,  and,  having  been  put  up  at  a  distance,  come 


GROUSE-SHOOTING    ON    THE    PRAIRIES.  299 

sailing  past  the  shooter,  very  much  allowance  must  be 
given,  or  the  shot  will  surely  fall  behind  them. 

The  best  ground  on  which  to  look  for  them  is  the 
skirts  of  upland  woods  on  the  edge  of  grain  and  buck- 
wheat stubbles,  or  crags  and  knolls  of  red  cedars,  which 
are  to  be  found  interspersed  amid  cultivated  fields. 

On  mountain  sides,  and  in  pine  woods  or  laurel  brakes, 
I  regard  it  nearly  lost  time  to  look  for  them.  It  is  much 
like  seeking  a  needle  iu  a  hay-mow,  and,  if  found,  it  is 
heavy  odds  against  killing. 

The  spruce  partridge,  and  red-necked  partridge,  are 
out  of  the  question ;  as  they  afford  no  sport. 

The  other  three  varieties  are  now  purely  Western 
birds ;  for,  although  the  first  species  did  formerly  exist 
abundantly  on  the  brush  plains  of  Long  Island,  in  the 
pines  on  the  seashore  of  New  Jersey,  and  on  the  scrub- 
oak  mountains  of  North-eastern  Pennsylvania,  where  per- 
haps a  few  scattered  broods  may  still  exist,  they  have  be- 
come, to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  a  bird  for  sporting 
ends,  extinct. 

These  species  are,  the  pinnated  grouse,  or  prairie 
hen,  which  is  identical  with  the  heath  hen,  as  it  was 
called  on  the  barren  lands  of  Long  Island,  and  the  grouse 
of  the  Pennsylvania  mountains  and  New  Jersey  pines ; 
the  sharp-tailed  grouse,  found  nearly  on  the  same  line  of 
country  as  the  preceding  variety,  but  somewhat  farther  to 
the  West;  and  the  great  sage  grouse,  or  cock  of  the 
plains,  which  is  only  found  in  the  regions  of  the  Arte- 
misia, in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
on  the  verge  of  the  American  Salt  Desert. 


300  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

The  pinnated  grouse  is  that  best  known — that  which 
affords  the  best  sport  and  the  best  eating;  the  sharp- 
tailed  grouse,  however,  is  shot  with  it  to  the  westward  of 
Lake  Michigan,  though  not,  I  believe,  to  the  eastward  of 
that  noble  sheet  of  water,  and  is  scarcely  inferior  to  it. 

The  great  sage  grouse  is  not  shot  at  all  as  a  sport,  and 
is  only  killed  rarely  by  the  voyageurs  who  cross  the  dreary 
wastes,  in  which  alone  it  has  its  abode,  and  the  adventur- 
ous hunting  parties,  who  from  time  to  time  invade  its  wild 
fastnesses. 

The  pinnated  grouse  abhors  wooded  country ;  is  rarely, 
if  ever,  found  in  tall  timber ;  carefully  eschews  low,  wet 
lands  ;  and  haunts  in  preference,  high,  dry,  rolling  prairies, 
where  there  is  little  water.  Indeed,  it  is  believed  that  this 
bird  never  drinks,  but  takes  all  the  liquid  which  it  uses 
by  picking  the  dew  or  rain,  drop  by  drop,  from  the  herbage 
or  bushes  on  which  it  has  fallen.  This  curious  fact  was 
first  discovered  by  a  gentleman,  who  kept  a  hen  bird  for 
some  considerable  time  in  a  cage,  and  observed  that  she 
would  never  take  water  from  a  cup,  though  if  any  were 
spilled  over  the  bars  of  her  cage  she  would  eagerly  pick  it 
off. 

This  is  a  beautiful  and  noble  species,  the  full-gpown 
male  weighing  nearly  two  pounds,  and  being  proportiona- 
bly  vigorous,  bold,  and  strong  on  the  wing.  It  is  decidedly 
the  finest  gallinaceous  game,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  of 
America,  and  affords  the  greatest  sport  to  those  who  are 
so  fortunate  as  to  reside  where  it  abounds. 

In  the  barrens  of  Kentucky  and  the  prairie  regions  of 
Ohio,  it  begins  first  to  be  found  in  numbers,  increasing  as 


GROUSE-SHOOTING-   ON   THE   PRAIRIES.  301 

one  proceeds  westward,  wherever  there  is  open  country, 
throughout  Michigan,  Illinois,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Wis- 
consin, Minnesota,  Upper  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  and  far 
away  to  the  wild  regions  of  the  Columbia  River. 

About  the  20th  of  August,' these  birds  are  ready  for 
the  gun.  By  that  time  they  are  nearly  full  grown,  and 
are  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  adult  birds  by  their 
plumage,  or  even  by  their  weight,  although  by  their  power 
of  wing  and  length  of  flight  they  may  easily  be  distin- 
guished. 

During  this  month  they  lie  hard,  although,  at  times, 
when  the  weather  is  hot  and  dry,  with  little  or  no  wind, 
they  are  so  wild  as  to  task  a  good  gun. 

The  excessive  heat  of  the  weather,  however,  on  those 
treeless  plains,  which  is  almost  insufferable,  and  is  often 
fatal  to  dogs,  during  the  summer,  renders  the  shooting  a 
toil  rather  than  a  pleasure. 

Early  in  September,  however,  the  heats  begin  to 
moderate,  and  the  sport  becomes  fine.  At  times  it  will 
happen,  that  early  in  this  month  there  are  sharp  cold  and 
strong  winds  accompanying  it  on  the  prairies,  and  in  such 
weather  the  birds  will  rise  for  many  days  together  entirely 
out  of  range. 

They  never  should  be  fired  at  with  smaller  shot  than 
No.  6 — when  they  can  be  brought  down  with  No.  7  or  8,  it 
is  proof  positive  that  they  are  too  young  to  be  shot  at  all — 
and  after  September,  No.  5  is  the  proper  size,  and  a  car- 
tridge in  the  second  barrel  is  advisable. 

The  finest  shooting  of  the  year,  is  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  month  of  September  and  the  beginning  of  October, 


302  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

when  the  mornings  are  cold  and  frosty,  and  the  middle  of 
the  days  mild  and  warm.  The  birds  will  then  lie  suffi- 
ciently well  to  afford  great  sport.  They  will  not,  it  is 
true,  allow  dogs  to  draw  or  road  close  up  to  them,  but 
their  scent  is  so  strong  that  a  good  pointer  will  stand  firm 
at  twenty  yards'  distance.  And  firmly  and  stanchly 
he  must  be  taught  to  stand,  if  one  would  have  sport. 
The  slow,  poking  dog,  that  roads  on  till  he  is  close  in  with 
his  game,  will  not  do  a  moment  for  this  work.  One  must 
have  fleet,  high-couraged,  wide-ranging  dogs,  that  will 
point  as  stiffly  as  rocks  the  instant  they  strike  the  scent. 
Setters  would  doubtless  be  better  than  pointers  for  this 
sport,  and  Russian  setters  the  best  of  all,  as  their  speed, 
courage,  endurance,  and  dauntless  perseverance,  as  well  as 
their  hardness  of  foot,  give  them  vastly  the  superiority, 
but  for  one  fatal  deficiency— their  inability  to  exist,  much 
less  hunt  without  water. 

In  many  of  the  best  grouse  districts  it  is  even  neces- 
sary, as  it  is  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Louis,  to  carry  out 
water  in  wagons  for  the  use  of  the  dogs.  This  no  setters 
could  endure.  Their  sufferings  are  painful  to  behold, 
when  they  cannot  both  drink  and  bathe  at  least  every  half 
hour  in  hot  weather ;  and  if  they  be  unable  to  db  so, 
they  speedily  lose  their  powers  of  scenting,  and  if  un- 
relieved, would  soon  die. 

For  dry  prairie  lands,  therefore,  during  that  part  of  the 
season  in  which  grouse  can  be  shot  to  the  dog  at  all-r-for 
after  November,  when  the  cold  weather  fairly  sets  in,  they 
cannot  ordinarily  be  approached  within  rifle  range — high- 


GROUSE-SHOOTING    ON    THK    PRAIRIES.  303 

bred,  swift  pointers  of  the  new  improved  stamp,  are  the 
best  dogs  for  the  sportsman's  use. 

The  best  way  of  hunting  these  birds,  is  to  begin  on  the 
stubbles  and  cornfield  edges  in  the  morning,  while  the 
coveys  are  on  the  feed,  and  to  drive  them  out  and  mark 
them  on  the  open  prairie,  where  they  will  scatter  widely, 
often  allowing  themselves  to  be  pointed  singly,  and  rarely 
rising  above  two  or  three  together.  They  flush  strongly 
on  a  sharp  pinion,  and  get  under  way  in  an  instant,  but 
they  fly  as  straight  as  a  bee-line,  whether  crossing  or  going 
away  from  the  gun.  The  majority  of  the  shots  at  birds 
in  September  are  within  thirty  yards,  and  it  is  rarely  that 
one  is  required  to  try  a  shot  at  above  forty.  At  either  of 
these  distances  No.  5  will  stop  nineteen  shots  out  of  twenty 
out  of  a  really  good  close-shooting  gun,  if  it  be  held 
straight.  If  not,  the  fault  of  the  shooter,  and  not  the 
wildness  of  the  game,  is  blamable. 

In  October,  the  grouse  becomes  wilder,  yet  there  are 
still  many  calm,  warm  days,  with  a  light  and  pleasant  breeze, 
when  the  birds  will  still  lie  and  afford  sport ;  though  at 
this  time  of  the  season  cartridges  in  both  barrels  are 
decidedly  commendable,  and  even  these  will  sometimes 
fail  to  stop  an  old  cock  grouse,  when  he  gets  under  way 
at  fifty  yards,  and  goes  away  before  the  wind  with  a  crow 
of  defiance,  as  who  should  say,  "  Catch  me,  if  you  can/' 

Many  persons  use  ten-pound  guns  of  9  or  10  gauge  for 
grouse- shoo  ting ;  but,  unless  they  are  men  of  great  size, 
strength  and  endurance,  I  by  no  means  advise  the  adop- 
tion of  so  formidable  a  weapon.  An  ordinary  sized  piece 
of  14  gauge,  30  to  31  inch  barrels,  and  7£  to  8  Ibs.  weight, 


304  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

with  1£  oz.  of  No.  5,  will  stop  any  thing  short  of  a  tearing 
old  cock  bird  at  any  distance  short  of  fifty  yards,  or  at 
that,  if  it  be  an  out-and-out  good  London  gun,  and  beyond 
that  there  is  no  certainty  with  any  gun. 

Such  a  gun,  I  can  safely  assure  any  one,  even  if  he  be 
a  strong  man,  and  a  stout,  enduring  walker,  in  addition  to 
the  other  traps,  ammunition,  and  the  like,  which  he  will 
have  to  carry,  even  if  he  be  provided  with  an  attendant  to 
take  charge  of  the  game — which,  by  the  way,  is  indispen- 
sable, since  it  would  be  something  of  a  puzzler  for  one  to 
find  himself  weighed  down  with  a  back  load  of  thirty  or 
forty  brace  of  two  Ib.  prairie-fowl — will  be  found  quite  as 
much  weight  as  it  will  be  either  profitable  or  pleasant  to 
carry  during  an  all-day  tramp  over  a  rolling  prairie  in  the 
month  of  August,  or  even  on  a  warm  Indian  Summer  day 
of  brown  September. 

The  instructions  for  hunting  pointers  in  the  open,  as 
given  before,  are  all  especially  applicable  here.  You  can 
hardly  get  them  to  range  too  high  or  wide,  as  they  are 
constantly  in  full  sight,  provided  they  will  stand  stiff  and 
firm,  until  you  can  get  up  to  them,  and  that  they  back  in 
first-rate  style,  without  the  necessity  of  shouting,  rating,  or 
whistling  to  them.  ,  f  ,. 

Grouse  are  a  shy,  wild  bird,  at  best ;  and  in  no  bird  of 
sport  do  finely  broken  dogs,  that  will  beat  their  ground 
silently  and  steadily  as  you  wish  them,  at  a  wave  of  the 
hand,  drop,  stop,  or  come  to  heel,  at  a  motion  without  a 
word  or  whistle,  tell  more  effectual  a  tale  than  on  the 
prairie. 

If  your  dogs  be  perfect  and  thoroughly  trained,  there 


GROUSE-SHOOTING   ON  THE   PRAIRIES.  305 

is  no  objection  to  using  two,  or  even  three  brace  together, 
where  there  is  range  enough  ;  but  I  should  myself  prefer, 
however  strong  my  kennel,  to  use  a  single  brace  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  after  luncheon,  when  the  first  dogs  were  becoming 
dull,  if  not  tired,  to  start  fresh  with  a  second  team.  In  the 
afternoon,  the  birds  will  be  found  again  on  the  feeding 
grounds,  whence  they  were  driven  in  the  morning;  and 
where  there  are  pea-fields,  great  sport  may  be  looked  for 
with  confidence  until  nearly  sunset. 

The  sportsman  must  remember  that  he  has  to  deal 
with  a  strong,  hardy  bird — though  he  is  said  less  frequently 
to  carry  away  his  death-wound  than  any  member  of  his 
family,  some  of  which,  the  quail  especially,  will  fly  off  for 
a  mile  or  more  on  an  unflagging  pinion,  and  literally  die  in 
mid  air — and  one  which  springs  and  is  off  like  a  flash  of 
lightning.  He  must  shoot,  therefore,  on  the  first  sight, 
and  that  a  sharp  and  quick  one,  yet  coolly.  For  if  he 
hope  to  kill,  the  muzzle  must  be  laid  so  straight,  that  the 
object  at  thirty  yards  shall  be  exactly  in  the  centre  of  the 
scattering  charge.  The  dispersed  pellets  of  the  outer  cir- 
cumference will  but  sting  him  ineffectually.  If  he  be 
crossing  you,  a  yard's  allowance  in  advance  of  him  will 
not  be  too  much  at  forty  paces,  and  if  you  fetch  him  so,  a 
beautiful  sight  it  is  to  see  him  skate  down  at  a  long 
tangent,  and  rebound  stone-dead  from  the  dry  earth  of 
the  prairie. 


BIEDS  NOT  TEUE  GAME. 

THE  UPLAND  PLOVER;  THE  RAIL;  THE  GALLINULE. 

So  soon  as  summer  woodcock-shooting  and  bay  snipe- 
shooting  are  at  an  end  in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States, 
and  just  about  the  time  when  grouse-shooting  is  beginning 
in  the  West,  two  other  kinds  of  sport  come  into  season, 
which,  though  they  can  scarcely  be  called,  in  the  strictest 
sense,  game-shooting,  have  yet  many  votaries,  and  afford 
much  amusement,  beside  supplying  the  table  witb  two 
of  the  choicest  delicacies  known  to  America. 

The  upland  plover,  as  it  is  generally  called,  not  being  a 
plover  at  all,  but  a  tattler,  of  the  same  species  with  the 
yellow-leg,  the  willet,  and  some  others,  was  first  classified 
by  Wilson,  who  gave  it  the  name  of  his  venerable  friend 
Mr.  Bartram,  who  has  conferred  much  benefit  on  the 
science  of  natural  history  in  America,  and  well  merits  the 


BIKDS   NOT   TBTTE   GAME.  307 

distinction.  The  Bartram's  sandpiper,  Totanus  Bar- 
tramius,  unlike  most  of  its  relatives,  is  rarely,  if  ever, 
found  on  the  sea-shore,  frequenting  upland  downs,  sheep- 
walks,  and  large  short-grassed  pastures  in  the  interior, 
feeding  on  grasshoppers,  and  other  small  insects,  snails, 
worms,  grass  seeds,  and  many  wild  fruits  and  berries,  and 
becoming  excessively  fat,  tender,  and  succulent. 

It  is  often  found  in  company  with  the  golden  plover, 
which  is  frequently  confounded  with  it  under  the  name  of 
the  frost  bird,  and  which,  in  those  feeding  grounds,  becomes 
greatly  improved  in  flesh  and  condition. 

The  upland  plover  is,  in  the  opinion  of  judges  with 
whom  I  fully  agree,  the  most  delicate  and  delicious  of  all 
wild  birds.  It  is  often  so  fat  that  the  breast  bursts  open 
on  its  striking  the  ground  when  shot,  and  the  meat  is  the 
richest  and  most  succulent  that  can  be  imagined.  Its 
peculiar  excellences  are,  that  it  never  clogs ;  it  is  never 
greasy,  nor  has  that  rank,  half-oily,  half-fishy  flavor,  which 
is  common,  more  or  less,  to  all  birds  which  feed  on  the  salt 
marshes,  and  which  is  not  entirely  absent  from  the  golden 
plover,  even  when  he  feeds  on  the  upland. 

The  Bartram's  sandpiper  is  about  the  size  of  the 
common  pigeon,  though  far  more  gracefully  and  slenderly 
made,  with  extremely  long  pointed  wings,  and  a  slight  re- 
curved bill.  It  is  a  shy,  wary  bird,  and  can  hardly  be 
approached  on  the  open  plains  or  downs  which  it  frequents, 
within  gunshot,  unless  under  cover  of  some  artifice  or 
quaint  device.  I  have  occasionally  walked  up  to  it,  near 
enough  to  kill  a  few  by  aid  of  Eley's  green  wild-fowl 
cartridges,  on  the  large  open  pastures  in  the  vicinity  of. 


308  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Bristol,  Pennsylvania,  known  as  Livingston's  manor ;  but 
this  was  regarded  as  unusual  good  fortune,  and  the  experi- 
ment is  scarce  likely  to  be  rewarded  with  success. 

This  bird  has  a  soft,  plaintive  call  or  whistle  of  two 
notes,  which  have  something  of  a  ventriloquial  character, 
and  possess  this  peculiarity,  that  when  uttered  close  to  the 
ear,  they  appear  to  come  from  a  distance,  and,  when  the 
bird  is  really  two  or  three  fields  distant,  sound  as  if  near 
at  hand. 

They  are  found  more  or  less  abundantly  on  Hempstead 
Heath,  as  it  is  called,  although  not  a  sprig  of  heather  ever 
grew  on  its  bare  and  grassy  surface,  and  on  all  the  open, 
down-like  hills  of  Long  Island.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  it  is  very  frequent,  and  perhaps 
in  that  region,  more  than  elsewhere,  is  pursued  by  the 
sportsmen,  who  visit  that  pleasant  watering-place  in 
summer. 

It  is  usually  shot  from  chaises,  as  the  easy,  two- 
wheeled  gigs  of  that  part  of  the  country  are  called ;  and 
there  is  much  art  in  driving  up  to  them,  much  more,  in- 
deed, than  in  bringing  them  down  when  once  within  shot. 

The  shooter  sits  in  the  bottom  of  the  gig,  with  his  left 
leg  advanced  on  the  step,  ready  to  spring  out  and  fire  the 
instant  the  chaise  stops  and  the  bird  rises — the  two  move- 
ments being  simultaneous. 

The  driver,  as  soon  as  he  perceives  the  bird,  which 
looms  up  large  on  the  bare  pasture,  drives  rapidly  round 
him  in  gradually  decreasing  circles,  keeping  his  eye  stead- 
ily on  him,  and  watching  every  motion,  so  as  to  calculate 
how  close  he  caii  get  before  he  will  be  alarmed  and  take 


BIRDS   NOT   TRUE    GAME.  309 

wing.  In  this  is  the  great  tact  and  skill  of  the  whole 
performance.  A  good  driver  will  land  his  gun  to  a  cer- 
tainty within  ten  or  fifteen  paces  of  the  sandpiper,  and 
pull  up  his  horse,  describing  a  sort  of  short  semicurve 
away  from  the  bird,  which  allows  the  shooter  to  spring 
out  on  his  right  foot  clear  of  the  wheel,  with  his  back  to 
the  horse's  tail,  and  to  get  a  fair  shot  as  the  bird  takes 
wing. 

This  sandpiper,  as  is  the  case  with  most  of  his  family, 
rises  at  first  with  a  slow  unfolding  of  his  wings  and  a  sort 
of  momentary  hover,  during  which  it  is  easy  to  bring  him 
down  ;  but  the  next  instant  he  is  off  like  a  bullet,  and  it 
requires  a  quick  eye  and  a  sure  judgment  to  stop  him, 
whether  crossing  the  gun  or  going  from  it,  when  he  is  once 
under  full  way. 

Another  mode  is  to  stalk  him  with  a  pony,  trained  to 
feed  gradually  up  to  him,  while  the  shooter  stands  con- 
cealed by  his  forelegs  and  shoulder  in  a  crouching  position, 
ready  to  shoot  when  within  distance.  Other  persons, 
market  shooters  principally,  and  those  who  kill  for  gain 
as  contrasted  with  sport,  are  content  to  build  bough-houses 
in  the  pastures  which  they  haunt,  and  to  lie  perdu  awaiting 
their  approach,  while  their  confederates,  in  two  or  more 
parties,  keep  continually  moving  to  and  fro,  so  as  to  put 
them  up,  and  keep  them  in  motion,  hoping  that  they  will 
fly  over  or  alight  within  gunshot  of  their  concealed  enemy. 

I  have  never  heard  any  one  who  could  call  the  Bar- 
tram's  sandpiper,  and  I  have  been  informed  that  it  cannot 
be  done  ;  nevertheless,  I  cannot  understand  the  wherefore, 
nor  do  I  see  why,  when  the  bough-house  method  of  ambush- 


310  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

ment  is  adopted,  stools  or  decoys  should  not  be  adopted 
as  for  the  shore  birds  of  the  same  family.  I  think  it 
would  succeed. 

The  chaise-method,  however,  is  regarded  as  the  genuine 
and  correct  manner  of  the  sport,  and  is  the  only  one  which 
the  genuine  plover-shooter  deigns  to  adopt.  After  all,  it 
appears  to  me  to  be  rather  a  cockney  sort  of  shooting,  not 
worthy  to  be  looked  on  as  a  field  sport,  though  it  may 
answer  to  while  away  the  monotony  of  a  watering-place 
day,  and  drown  the  deep  disgust  which  must  rise  in  every 
sober  breast,  at  sight  of  the  doleful  doings  of  the  young 
Americans  and  Americanesses  in  their  diurnal  polka  ball- 
rooms. It  is  but  a  knack,  at  best ;  and  were  it  not  for  the 
surpassing  excellence  of  the  plover  on  the  table,  he  would,  I 
fancy,  be  generally  suffered  to  go  free  in  the  field,  and  his 
pursuit  would  be  held  "  tolerable,  and  not  to  be  endured." 

Almost  simultaneously  with  plover-shooting  on  the 
upland,  commences  rail-shooting  on  the  reedy  flats  of  the 
rivers  on  which  this  curious  and  delicate  little  bird 
breeds  to  the  northward. 

The  sora  rail — Rallus  Carolinensis — winters  far  to 
the  southward,  and  on  the  breaking  of  the  spring  comes 
on  to  make  its  nest  wherever  there  are  flats  and  maVshes 
on  the  margins  of  tide  rivers,  alternately  submerged  and 
left  bare  by  the  rise  or  subsidence  of  the  waters.  In 
such  places  it  rears  its  young  in  vast  multitudes,  and  is 
ready  for  the  gun  early  in  August,  before  which  period 
tliey  are  rarely  to  be  seen,  although  long  anterior  to  it 
they  can  be  heard  clucking  over  all  the  marshy  meadows, 
4*nd  among  the  reed  beds  in  which  they  abound.  Their 


KAIL-SHOOTING.  311 

favorite  haunts  are  the  wild  rice  flats  on  the  borders  of 
many  of  the  tide  rivers  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  as  the 
James  River  in  Virginia,  the  Susquehanna  and  Dela- 
ware, and  their  tributaries,  the  Raritan,  the  Passaic,  the 
Ilackensack,  and  some  other  streams  of  New  Jersey,  on 
which  they  literally  swarm  during  the  season,  feeding  in 
company  with  the  reed-birds  and  marsh  blackbirds  in 
countless  swarms,  and  becoming  so  fat  that  they  can  hard- 
ly fly,  on  the  seeds  of  the  aquatic  rice,  or  oat,  as  it  is  other- 
wise termed. 

The  rail  is  singular  in  habits;  it  can  run  like  a  mouse 
among  the  stalks  of  the  wild  rice,  and  although  it  has  a 
strong  scent,  which  dogs  will  readily  own  and  eagerly  fol- 
low, it  cannot  be  forced  by  them  to  take  wing,  with  all 
their  exertions ;  so  much  so  that,  when  the  flats  are  dry 
and  the  tide  out,  one  may  beat  with  the  best  setters  or 
pointers  in  the  world  until  he  is  weary,  and  that,  too,  where 
there  are  birds  in  millions,  without  raising  half  a  dozen  in 
a  day. 

They  fly  very  slowly  and  heavily,  when  they  do  rise,  with 
their  legs  hanging  down,  and  rarely  go  above  twenty,  or 
five-and-twenty  yards  before  they  drop,  affording  the  easiest 
shots  that  can  be  imagined.  So  exceedingly  slow,  indeed, 
and  heavy  is  their  flight,  that  if  one  have  been  much  used 
to  shoot  sharp-flying  birds,  snipe  more  especially,  he  is 
not  unlikely  to  miss  them  at  first  by  shooting  before  them, 
or  over  them  when  rising,  instead  of  behind  or  below  them, 
as  he  is  apt  to  do  with  any  sharp-flying  game. 

The  only  method  of  killing  rail,  with  any  success,  is 
from  boats,  driven  over  the  flats  and  through  the  reeds 


312  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

while  the  tide  is  rising,  as  fast  as  the  power  and  skill  of 
the  man  who  pushes  the  sportsman  with  a  long  punt  pole 
can  accomplish.  The  higher  the  water,  and  the  greater 
the  speed  at  which  the  skiff  is  propelled,  the  more  the 
sport.  The  birds  will  only  take  wing  when  the  tide  is 
rising,  and  then  only  when  the  boat  is  forced  upon  them 
with  such  rapidity  that  they  can  neither  run  nor  swim 
away  from  it.  When  they  have  no  other  choice,  they  flap 
up  just  as  the  gunwale  is  run  over  them,  fly  awkwardly 
and  lazily  away  for  ten  or  twenty  yards,  and  then  drop 
again,  if  not  knocked  over,  which  can  be  done  with  the 
merest  touch  of  the  shot. 

Unless  they  are  killed  dead,  however,  they  are  rarely  re- 
covered, as  when  wounded  they  dive  to  the  bottom,  and  hold 
on  to  the  weeds  and  water-grass  till  life  actually  leaves  them. 
All  the  skill  in  this  sport  lies  in  the  pusher,  and  with  him, 
in  fact,  it  depends  whether  the  gunner  has  sport  or  no ; 
for  he  has  not  only  to  push  the  boat,  on  which  depends  half 
the  battle,  but  to  mark  the  birds  which  go  down,  whether 
dead  or  without  a  shot,  to  a  yard's  distance,  and  if  killed, 
to  retrieve  them. 

All  that  the  shooter  has  in  fact  got  to  do,  is  to  stand 
firmly  in  the  boat  as  it  runs  over  the  smooth,  moist  weeds, 
which  is  a  knack  easly  acquired  with  a  little  practice,  and 
to  shoot  as  slowly  and  as  coolly  as  he  can. 

The  birds  get  up  so  close  to  him  and  fly  so  slowly,  that 
he  cannot,  if  he  were  to  try,  be  too  slow  or  deliberate 
with  them.  The  further  they  get  away,  the  surer  he  is 
not  only  not  to  miss,  but  to  bring  them  to  bag  without 
smashing  or  disfiguring  them.  As  to  missing  them,  after 


BAIL-SHOOTING.  313 

the  shooter  has  once  learned  to  stand  up  in  a  Delaware 
skiff,  and  has  got  his  sea  legs  on  board,  it  is  impossible ;  at 
least  for  any  man  who  can,  under  any  circumstances,  kill 
any  thing. 

The  only  things  to  do  are  to  stand  steady,  shoot  slowly, 
and  load  quickly ;  by  observing  these  three  rules,  the 
merest  beginner,  if  he  have  a  good  poleman,  can  rival  the 
best  and  oldest  sportsman  in  the  land. 

The  right  gun  is  the  lightest  you  have,  and  that  which 
scatters  most.  If  any  one  were  to  think  of  having  a 
piece  built  on  purpose,  it  should  be  one  of  26  or  28  inches 
barrels  and  11  or  12  gauge,  and  one  should  use  out  of  it 
about  1^  drachm  of  powder  and  f-  oz.  of  mustard-seed 
shot.  The  handiest  way  to  load,  which  cannot  be  done 
too  fast,  as  the  birds  often  keep  rising  in  a  constant 
stream,  is  to  have  the  shot  loose  in  a  wooden  box  or  bowl, 
with  a  charger  lying  in  it  placed  on  a  thwart  in  front  of  you, 
with  powder-horn  and  cut  wadding  beside  it,  and  a  loading 
rod  at  hand  to  save  the  trouble  of  drawing  and  returning 
the  ramrod.  A  small  light  landing-net  is  convenient, 
fixed  on  a  long  handle,  for  retrieving  the  dead  birds  which 
have  fallen  in  the  water,  without  altering  the  course  of 
the  boat. 

It  is  well  to  have  a  larger  gun  in  the  boat,  either  a 
common  fowling-piece  or  a  double  duck  gun,  of  10  or  12 
Ibs.,  as  well  for  shooting  at  the  vast  flocks  of  reed-birds 
which  frequently  cross  the  boat,  as  for  picking  up  chance 
shots  at  green  or  blue-winged  teal ;  at  both  of  which  birds, 
as  well  as  at  the  gallinule,  or  common  water-hen — a  bird 
of  a  closely  allied  family,  which  is  frequent  in  the  South, 
14 


314  MANUAL   FOE   TOTING   SPORTSMEN. 

and  a  cut  of  which  is  prefixed  to  this  paper,  though  it  is 
less  common  to  the  northward  and  eastward — the  rail 
shooter  frequently  gets  a  chance. 

Prodigious  bags  of  these  easily  killed  and  dull  flying 
little  birds  are  frequently  made,  particularly  on  the  Dela- 
ware River,  in  the  vicinity  of  Chester,  and  about  the  mouth 
of  the  Schuylkill  River,  in  which  localities  as  many  as  175, 
and  even  200  birds,  have  been  killed  by  a  single  gun,  and 
during  a  single  tide,  which  does  not,  at  most,  give  above 
two  and  a  half  or  three  hours'  shooting. 

Still,  notwithstanding  all  this,  and  despite  the  admitted 
excellence  of  both  rail  and  reed-bird  on  the  table,  I 
think  the  pastime  but  a  poor  one ;  and  if  it  were  not  that 
there  is  little  else  to  do  at  that  season  of  the  year,  and 
that  it  does  serve  to  keep  the  hand  in,  one  which  would 
be,  to  the  full,  as  much  honored  in  the  breach  as  in  the 
observance. 

All  sorts  of  absurd  stories  used  to  prevail  about  this  little 
bird,  whose  slow  flight  and  lazy  habits  appear  to  render  it 
impossible  for  it  to  make  long  over  sea  migrations.  It  was 
sapiently  held,  and  I  believe  still  is,  by  the  James  River 
negroes,  in  Virginia,  and  the  longshore  Jerseymen  of 
Gloucester  and  Salem  counties,  that  it  turns  into  a  Frog  in 
the  winter,  and  sleeps  till  spring  in  the  mud.  It  is,  how- 
ever, clearly  proved  that  it  is  a  regular  bird  of  passage, 
often  boarding  ships  at  sea  under  stress  of  weather. 


AUTUMN  SHOOTING. 

WITH  the  latter  days  of  October  or  the  beginning  of  No- 
vember, quail-shooting,  as  it  is  termed  every  where  to  the 
eastward,  and  partridge-shooting  every  where  to  the  west- 
ward, of  the  Delaware,  commences. 

Woodcock  are  still  abundant  on  the  proper  grounds, 
particularly  among  hanging  woods  of  second  growth,  of 
chestnut  interspersed  with  evergreens,  on  the  hill-sides, 
adjacent  to  water,  and  in  low  level  maple  swamps  and 
alder  thickets. 

Ou  different  ground,  but  still  on  the  same  ranges,  on 
the  higher  slopes,  where  there  is  a  mixture  of  crags  and 
cedar  brakes,  with  deciduous  trees  and  cultivated  buck- 
wheat fields  and  corn  stubbles,  the  ruffed  grouse  is  fre- 
quently to  be  found. 


316  MANUAL   FOR  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

The  smaller  hare,  or  rabbit,  as  it  is  usually  and  falsely 
called,  at  this  season  lies  in  the  same  beats,  making  his 
form  sometimes  among  the  brambles  and  weeds  near  the 
side  of  the  boundary  stone-wall  of  some  wheat  or  rye 
stubble,  sometimes  among  the  pumpkin  leaves  and  barj 
stalks  of  a  maizefield,  oftener  among  brush-heaps  where 
underwood  has  been  trimmed  up  and  piled,  constantly  in 
dry  brushy  coppices,  and  never — where  an  English  sports- 
man would  first  look  for  him — among  the  ridges  and  fur- 
rows of  a  fallow  field. 

The  larger  hare,  which  turns  white  in  winter,  is  becom- 
ing rare,  and  is  now  found  in  but  few  localities.  In  the 
Eastern  States,  about  the  Catskill  Mountains,  and  in 
Canada,  it  is  plentiful.  It  is,  however,  but  little  pursued 
or  shot  by  sportsmen,  though  it  would  afford  excellent 
sport  before  beagles,  and  is  killed  principally  for  its  culi- 
nary value,  which  is  great — whether  it  be  converted  into 
soup,  or  confectioned  into  ragouts ;  for  roasted,  it  is  dry 
and  unsavory,  even  currant-jelly  and  herb-stuffing  being 
added  in  the  estimate. 

When  all  these  species  of  game,  the  latter  alone 
excepted,  are  found  together,  as  is  often  the  case  in  good 
ground  during  the  autumn,  the  shooting  is  the  finest  that 
can  be  imagined ;  the  uncertainty  what  animal  is  about  to 
show  itself  before  the  point,  and  diversity  of  practice  re- 
quired for  stopping  whatever  it  may  be  in  the  finest  style, 
adding  infinite  variety  and  excitement  to  the  sport. 

Of  autumn  shooting,  however,  quail  may  be  regarded 
as  the  most  legitimate  object,  the  other  varieties  coming 
in  incidentally,  and  being  killed  as  they  come,  the  ruffed 


AUTUMN    SHOOTING.  317 

grouse  and  hare  more  particularly,  without  being,  as  a 
general  thing,  directly  sought  for  of  set  purpose.  It  is 
not  exactly  so  with  woodcock,  though  it  is  not  advisable 
to  endeavor  to  find  these  early  in  the  day,  in  autumn 
shooting,  for,  if  one  do  so,  he  is  likely  to  miss  the  quail 
while  they  are  on  the  feed,  and  when  that  is  the  case,  his 
chance  of  making  a  bag  will  be  a  poor  one. 

On  starting  out  in  the  morning,  which  it  is  unnecessary 
to  do  so  early  as  many  persons  imagine,  unless  one  has  a 
long  distance  to  drive  or  walk  before  reaching  his  ground, 
the  first  thing  is  to  know  the  ground,  and  then  to  consider 
how  to  beat. 

I  should  consider  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  to  be 
quite  sufficiently  early  to  begin  beating  for  quail,  especially 
as  the  season  advances.  It  is  not  well  to  disturb  birds  in 
their  roosting-places,  before  they  have  moved,  as  in  that 
case  they  are  apt  to  go  away  in  a  body  without  dispersing, 
and  to  lay  up  for  the  day,  thoroughly  alarmed,  in  some 
cunning,  out-of-the-way  nook,  in  which  it  is  a  hundred  to 
one  against  finding  them. 

Until  the  dew  is  sufficiently  exhaled  to  allow  the  birds 
to  squat  without  wetting  the  plumage  on  their  breasts,  it 
is  useless  to  expect  them  to  lie  to  the  dog ;  and  if  there 
have  been  a  white  frost,  while  that  is  in  process  of  ex- 
halation there  is  not  a  chance  of  the  scent  lying. 

It  is  not,  however,  on  this  account  desirable  to  wait 
until  the  grass  is  dry,  or  the  hoar-frost  all  completely  ex- 
haled ;  for,  were  that  the  rule,  on  some  days  in  November 
one  would  have  to  wait  until  to-morrow.  As  soon,  there- 
fore, as,  judging  from  the  morning,  quail  are  likely  to  be 


318  MANUAL   FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

on  the  move,  it  is  high  time  to  be  after  them,  since,  if  they 
fail  to  lie  at  first  so  as  to  afford  a  shot,  they  can  probably 
be  marked  down,  if  not  exactly  to  the  spot,  at  least  so 
nearly  as  to  render  it  almost  certain  that  they  caii  be  found 
again. 

The  first  thing  in  beating  ground  for  quail,  is,  if  it  be 
by  any  means  possible,  to  begin  driving  the  whole  range 
of  country,  which  you  desire  to  shoot,  from  the  leeward 
extremity  up  wind,  so  as  to  give  the  dogs  the  advantage 
of  having  the  air  in  their  noses,  which  at  least  triply 
facilitates  their  finding  and  pointing  the  birds  in  good 
style ;  and  also  to  increase  the  chance  of  getting  a  fair 
shot,  since  quail  usually  prefer  flying  down  wind  to  facing 
it,  especially  if  it  be  blowing  a  strong  breeze. 

Where,  from  the  direction  of  the  wind,  and  the  distance 
of  the  extreme  part  of  the  intended  beat,  it  is  not  prac- 
ticable to  drive  the  whole  range  from  the  leeward,  it  will 
still  be  advisable  to  enter  all  such  fields  as  seem  likely  to 
hold  game,  and  invariably  all  spots,  whether  high  timber, 
coppice,  low  brake,  or  bog  meadow,  into  which  game  has 
been  marked  down,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  let  the  wind 
face  the  dogs,  even  if  it  be  necessary  to  make  a  circuit  in 
order  to  do  so. 

The  likeliest  ground  on  which  to  find  quail  in  the 
morning,  while  on  the  feed,  is  wheat  stubbles,  buckwheat 
stubbles,  and  cornfields,  in  which  the  maize  has  been 
topped  in  order  to  admit  the  ripening  of  the  grain,'  and 
particularly  such  fields  as  lie  adjacent  to  dry  bog  meadows, 
beds  of  bulrushes  or  cat-tails,  as  they  are  commonly 
called,  from  which  the  water  has  been  drained  or  exhaled, 


AUTUMN   SHOOTING.  319 

and  low  spots  full  of  rank  grass  with  briers,  low  bushes, 
and  wiutergreens  or  cranberries,  such  being  the  places  in 
which  they  love  to  roost. 

The  edges  of  the  fields,  along  the  hedgerows,  in  the 
angles  of  the  snake-fences,  or  by  the  wall-sides,  where 
sumachs  and  coarse  weeds  grow  rank  and  tall,  if  the 
farmer  be  a  careless  one,  and  on  the  bushy  verges  of  large 
woodlands,  the  bevies  will  generally  be  found.  These  places 
should,  therefore,  be  the  first  beat,  and  then  the  middle  of 
the  fields,  in  which  the  birds  comparatively  seldom  lie. 

When  the  dogs  find  their  game,  it  is  easy  for  a  good 
sportsman  to  judge  by  the  attitude  and  action  of  the 
animal,  what  game  it  is,  whether  wild  or  tame,  stationary 
or  on  the  move.  If  the  pointer  stands  like  a  statue,  with 
his  stern  outstretched  and  rigid,  his  whole  frame  quivering 
with  nervous  excitement,  his  eye  glaring  and  his  lip  slaver- 
ing, the  game  is  close  before  him.  If  he  waver,  wag 
his  stern  wistfully,  and  look  back  at  his  master,  he  is 
doubtful  whether  the  game  have  not  gone,  or  is  not  far 
away.  If  he  crouch  low,  and  show  an  eager  and  almost 
uncontrollable  desire  to  crawl  forward  on  his  belly,  there 
is  surely  a  running  bevy  before  him. 

In  the  first  case,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  take  such  a  di- 
rection in  coming  up  to  him,  as  will  enable  you  to  command 
a  fair  shot  as  the  birds  rise,  and  as  will  probably  drive 
them  in  the  direction  of  the  ground  which  you  propose  to 
beat  hereafter,  and  in  which  you  would  prefer  to  have 
them.  That  is,  of  course,  covert  of  some  kind — the  easiest 
you  can  select,  or  brakes  which  you  know  or  shrewdly 
suspect  to  contain  woodcock 


320  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

On  getting  abreast  of  the  pointer,  if  the  birds  do  not 
rise,  encourage  him  by  a  gentle  chirrup,  and  the  word 
"  On,"  in  a  low  whisper ;  when  he  should  lead  you  step  by 
step,  you  keeping  exact  pace  with  him,  your  forward  foot 
parallel  with  his  shoulder,  never  heeding  him  until  he 
has  brought  you  to  the  very  tuft,  brake,  or  bush  in  which 
one  of  the  birds — that  which  he  first  scented — lies. 

If  the  bird  do  not  then  spring — he  probably  will  do 
so,  however,  even  before  this  time,  on  the  first  disturbance 
before  the  bevy  has  been  broken,  although  in  the  heat  of 
the  day,  after  being  shot  at,  they  will  often  squat  until 
literally  trodden  upon — the  dog  should  not  be  pressed  or 
urged  to  jump  in  upon  the  birds,  but  the  shooter  should 
kick  the  brake  with  his  foot,  or  stir  it  with  the  muzzle  of 
his  gun.  If  he  have  an  assistant  with  him  to  carry  the 
game-bag  and  spare  ammunition,  it  is  his  duty  to  throw  a 
stone  or  beat  the  bushes  with  his  stick,  and  instantly  to 
crouch  to  the  earth,  when  he  hears  the  birds  rise,  other- 
wise he  will  often  be  in  the  way  of  the  gun,  and  deprive 
it  of  a  fair  shot. 

If  a  single  bird  rise,  the  sportsman's  work  is  clear 
enough — particularly  if  it  be,  as  it  generally  is,  the  old 
cock,  who  leads  the  bevy.  Kill  him  at  all  hazards,  if  you 
can.  The  other  birds  will  alight  three  fields  sooner,  if  he 
is  not  there  to  lead  them  over  the  tree-tops  far  away.  If, 
by  good  fortune,  a  clever  double  shot  brings  down  both 
parents,  the  old  cock  and  the  old  hen,  the  rest  of  the  bevy 
may  be  counted  on  as  dead  sure. 

If  the  whole  bevy  rise  at  once,  on  no  account  shoot  at 
the  bulk  of  it,  or  at  a  central  bird.  To  do  so,  is  pro- 


AUTUMN   SHOOTING.  321 

bably  to  wound  and  cripple  half  a  dozen,  and  bring  down 
none. 

Coolly  select  the  outside  birds  on  your  own  hand, 
those  that  go  to  the  right,  if  you  are  standing  to  the  right, 
and  vice  versa,  leaving  the  balance  to  the  skill  of  your 
companion ;  if  they  rise  very  close  at  hand,  let  the  first 
bird  go  fifteen  yards  before  you  raise  your  gun,  then  cover 
him,  pull  your  trigger,  cover  another,  and  fire  as  quickly 
as  you  possibly  can.  If  you  have  held  straight,  your  brace 
of  birds  will  be  dead  at  about  twenty  and  thirty  yards' 
distance ;  at  which  range  the  No.  8  shot  will  have  had 
space  to  spread  fully,  without  losing  force,  and  will  kill  its 
object  clean  without  any  risk  of  tearing  it  to  pieces.  The 
next  thing  is  to  mark  the  birds  carefully ;  to  do  this,  fix 
the  eye  on  them  steadily  as  they  skate  away,  gradually 
lowering  their  flight — never  take  the  eye  off  them  for  a 
moment ;  if  they  sink  into  a  dip  or  hollow  of  the  ground, 
cast  your  eye  forward  in  the  line  of  their  previous  flight, 
and  if  they  reappear  beyond  it,  you  will  catch  them  again. 
If  not,  you  may  beat  for  them  in  that  vicinity,  judging  by 
their  elevation  above  the  ground  when  you  last  saw  them 
how  much  farther  they  will  have  gone.  If  the  wind  be 
high,  and  they  are  flying  with  it,  make  plenty  of  allowance 
for  that.  They  will  often  skate  before  it  across  two  or 
three  fields,  and  over  as  many  fences,  especially  if  they  lie 
down  hill,  and  if  there  be  good  lying  ground  beyond. 

If  they  enter  a  wood,  they  are  almost  sure  not  to  leave 

it  on  the  other  side,  and  you  can  guess  with  some  accuracy 

how  far  they  have  gone  into  it,  by  the  height  at  which 

they  enter  it,  though  something  will  depend  on  the  nature 

14* 


322  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

of  the  lying  on  the  inside.  If  there  be  a  verge  of  tall 
grove-like  timber  trees,  with  no  underwood,  for  some  dis- 
tance, and  then  heavy  coppice,  they  will  probably  have 
alighted  close  within  the  edge  of  the  bushes,  and  run  a  few 
yards  forward  before  squatting. 

If  the  wind  be  high,  and  they  have  entered  the  wood 
before  it,  they  will  often  fly  quite  on  to  the  extreme  lee- 
ward side,  particularly  if  it  be  the  thickest  portion,  or  if 
it  have  a  bushy  skirt  running  out  into  meadow  land  or 
stubbles,  or  again,  if  it  have  an  old  dry  brush  fence. 

Indeed,  if  at  any  part  of  the  wood  there  be  such  a 
fence,  or  if  there  be  fallen  trees  with  large  prostrate  tops, 
these  should  always  be  looked  to  with  much  pains  or  cau- 
tion. A  low-flying  bevy  will  often  drop  to  them ;  a  run- 
ning bevy  will  almost  invariably  stop  in  them ;  and  if 
there  be  either  ruffed  grouse  or  hares  in  the  wood,  it 
will  be  in  such  places. 

I  must  again  here  caution  the  young  sportsman 
against  imagining  that  he  has  marked  a  bevy  of  quail, 
because  he  has  lost  sight  of  them.  All  that  he  can  do  in 
that  case,  is,  judging  by  their  flight,  the  state  of  the  wind, 
and  the  nature  of  the  neighboring  ground,  to  approximate 
the  spot  for  which  they  have  made,  and,  by  the  aid  of  his 
dogs,  in  due  season  to  discover  it. 

If  he  see  them  drop,  that  is  another  thing.  Their 
mode  of  doing  so  is  unmistakable.  Quail  never  dart 
abruptly  down,  and  very  rarely,  if  ever,  wheel  round  before 
they  alight,  but  gradually  lower  their  flight  until  they  are 
close  to  the  ground,  when  they  throw  themselves  up  with  a 
particular  motion,  bringing  their  feet  and  tails  down  first, 


AUTUMN   SHOOTING.  323 

and  clap  their  wings  over  tbeir  backs.  When  they  are 
seen  to  do  this,  they  are  down — and  no  mistake  ! 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  for  some  time  after  quail 
have  dropped  and  squatted,  they  yield  no  scent  whatever, 
and  cannot  be  pointed  even  by  the  most  excellent  dogs  on 
the  best  scenting  days.  It  is  a  question,  though  it  matters 
not  to  the  sportsman,  the  fact  being  once  established, 
whether  this  retention  of  the  scent  is  voluntary  on  the 
part  of  the  bird,  or  a  peculiarity  of  which  it  is  uncon- 
scious. I  am,  however,  well  satisfied  that  the  former  is 
the  case ;  for  at  such  times  as  it  gives  out  no  scent,  the 
quail  will  not  take  wing  at  all,  however  narrowly  the 
thicket  or  covert,  of  whatever  sort  it  may  chance  to  be,  is 
beaten  by  dogs  and  men. 

This  peculiarity  is  especially  to  be  noted ;  for  to  follow 
birds  immediately  to  the  new  hiding-place,  is  worse  than 
time  thrown  away.  They  will  not  be  found  until  at  the 
end  of  half  an  hour  or  upward,  when  they  shall  have  begun 
to  run,  and  if  at  all  scattered,  to  call ;  and  while  the 
sportsman  is  fruitlessly  toiling  after  these,  such  other  birds 
as  are  feeding  in  the  vicinity,  having  got  through  their 
morning  meal,  will  have  betaken  themselves  to  the  small 
isolated  spots  in  which  they  bask  and  lay  up  during  the 
heat  of  the  day,  and  in  which,  unless  stumbled  on  by  acci- 
dent, the  best  dogs  will  fail  to  find  them. 

The  proper  method,  therefore,  by  which  to  have  great 
sport  in  the  afternoon,  is  to  persist  in  beating  the  stubbles, 
feeding  grounds  and  wood-edges,  so  long  as  the  birds  are 
on  the  ramble  and  the  feed,  and  to  take  such  shots  as  one 
may  get,  in  the  mean  time,  until  the  scattered  birds  shall 


324  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

begin  to  call,  and  there  seem  no  more  fresh  bevies  to  be 
found.  Then  follow  up  those  which  have  been  flushed 
during  the  morning,  either  to  the  precise  spots  into  which 
they  have  been  marked,  or  as  nearly  as  can  be  judged  to 
the  place,  and  proceed  to  beat  for  them  with  the  utmost 
care  and  patience,  picking  up  bird  after  bird,  and  never 
sparing  to  turn  and  return,  if  it  were  a  dozen  times,  until 
every  quail  has  been  accounted  for. 

In  this  part  of  the  sport,  if  the  country  be  well  stocked, 
it  will  be  hard  fortune,  indeed,  if  one  do  not  fall  in  with 
fresh  bevies ;  which,  for  the  most  part,  lie  up  during  the 
basking  time  of  the  day  in  precisely  the  same  ground  to 
which  they  fly  for  shelter  when  disturbed ;  and  if  this  be, 
as  it  almost  invariably  will  in  rolling  country,  where  the 
bevies  are  found  on  the  upland  slopes  and  hill-sides,  in  the 
swamps  and  hollows,  it  will  be  bad  luck,  indeed,  if  a  good 
sprinkling  of  woodcock  and  a  few  ruffed  grouse,  do  not 
come  in  to  swell  the  bag. 

The  quail  is,  probably,  the  hardest  bird  in  the  world 
to  kill  quickly,  certainly  and  cleanly.  He  gets  under  way 
with  the  speed  of  light;  before  the  wind  he  goes  like  a 
bullet  from  a  rifle,  when  he  has  once  fairly  got  on  his 
wings;  he  flies  as  fast  in  the  thickest  covert,  whifch  he 
affects,  as  he  does  out  of  it ;  he  takes  a  heavy  blow,  and 
that  planted  exactly  in  the  right  place,  to  bring  him  down ; 
and,  above  all,  he  has  a  habit  of  carrying  away  his  death- 
wound,  flying  as  if  unhurt,  until  his  life  leaves  him  in  mid 
air. 

He  has  another  knack,  which  disappoints  the  sportsman 
of  many  a  snap  shot,  when  not  pointed,  of  lying  close 


AUTUMN   SHOOTING.  325 

while  one  is  passing  him,  until  the  back  is  fairly  turned  on 
him,  and  then  off  and  away,  with  a  startling  whirr  of  his 
pinions,  leaving  nothing  by  which  to  judge  of  his  direc- 
tion, when  the  shooter  has  wheeled  in  great  trepidation 
and  anxiety,  but  a  few  sprays  of  the  underwood  still 
shaking,  in  the  breathless  calm  of  the  woodland,  where 
his  rapid  flight  has  stirred  them. 

With  reference  to  the  hunting  of  dogs  on  quail,  I  have 
no  other  instructions  to  give  than  those  laid  down  before 
in  reference  to  snipe,  except  that  in  covert  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  a  doubly  watchful  eye  on  all  their  movements, 
to  be  constantly  on  the  guard  that  they  shall  not  steal 
away,  out  of  range,  which  if  they  do,  they  will  unquestion- 
ably run  riot ;  and,  if  one  desire  to  have  good  sport  at 
present,  and  to  preserve  his  dogs  good  for  the  future,  to 
work  well  up  to  them  with  the  gun,  and  by  no  means  to 
lag  behind,  however  hot  the  afternoon,  however  thick  the 
covert,  however  hard  the  work. 

The  right  charge  is  1^  oz.  of  No.  8  shot,  with  a 
cartridge  of  the  same  weight  and  number  in  the  second 
barrel,  and  this  will  tell  a  tale  on  the  hares  and  ruffed 
grouse  which  one  may  chance  to  encounter. 

With  regard  to  the  latter  bird,  the  difficulty  of  bagging 
him,  if  not  much  exaggerated,  is  entirely  mis-stated,  and 
attributed  to  false  causes.  It  is  true,  he  is  amazingly  fleet 
and  powerful  on  his  pinions,  when  he  is  once  fully  under 
way,  and  shooting  down  wind  with  his  wings  set  and  motion- 
less. At  such  times  one  must  aim  a  full  yard  ahead  of 
him,  at  thirty-five  or  forty  paces,  and  then  if  your  gun  be 


326  MANUAL   FOR   YOfXU    SPORTSMEN. 

not  a  close  carrier  and  a  hard  hitter,  he  will  laugh  you  and 
your  shot  to  scorn. 

It  is  true  that  he  rises  with  so  prodigious  a  flutter  and 
rush,  that  he  shakes  the  nerves  of  young  shooters,  and  nine 
times  out  of  ten  gets  away  unharmed.  It  is  true,  that 
when  flushed  once,  he  mostly  takes  to  the  tree  and  cannot 
be  found  again ;  and,  to  conclude,  it  is  true,  that  he  is  the 
wildest  and  shyest  of  all  wood-hunting  game,  and  that  his 
habit  of  running  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away,  as 
fast  as  he  can  ply  his  legs,  from  the  spot  where  he  is 
pointed,  and  then  flying  off  at  a  bee-line,  renders  it  diffi- 
cult indeed  to  get  a  shot  at  him. 

But  therein  is  the  difficulty ;  not  in  shooting  him,  when 
one  has  the  chance  of  a  shot.  For  when  he  rises  within 
range,  although  he  does  so  with  a  fearful  fuss  and  flutter, 
if  one  keep  cool,  and  be  not  flurried,  he  hangs  heavily  at 
first  on  the  air,  displays  a  wide  mark  of  rustling  loose 
feathers  to  the  aim,  and  is  far  from  requiring  an  unusually 
hard  blow  to  bring  him.  When  he  comes,  great  is  the 
fall  of  him,  and  great  the  rejoicing  over  him  in  the 
dining-room  and  the  kitchen ;  for  if  he  be  hung  till  he  be 
thoroughly  tender,  quickly  and  discreetly  roasted,  and 
eaten  off  hot  plates  with  bread  sauce  and  fried  bfead 
crumbs,  his  tout  ensemble  is  undeniable,  and  the  fumet  of 
his  thighs  and  back-bone  a  thing  worthy  the  knowledge 
of  Apicius.  For  marking  the  ruffed  grouse,  the  same  rule 
holds  good  as  of  the  quail ;  but,  in  all  my  experience,  I 
have  not  seen  this  bird  marked  a  dozen  times,  so  wildly 
does  it  fly. 

The  woodcock,  moreover,  is  now  in  full  vigor,  in  full 


AUTUMN    SHOOTING.  327 

plumage,  in  prime  condition,  a  large,  plump  bird,  with  a 
ruffed  ueok,  a  fair  gray  forehead,  and  pink  legs,  weighing 
from  eight  to  nine  and  a  half  ounces  on  an  average,  and 
sometimes  exceeding  the  latter  weight  by  one  or  even  two 
ounces. 

He  is,  also,  as  different  a  bird  to  shoot  now,  from  what 
he  was  in  July,  as  if  he  were  of  another  race.  Even  be- 
fore setters,  instead  of  flapping  up  lazily  like  a  half-awak- 
ened owl  by  daylight,  he  springs  sharply  with  a  clear  ring- 
ing whistle,  darts  upward  through  the  tree-tops,  and  often 
makes  two  or  three  quick  zigzags  like  a  wild-flushed  snipe, 
before  settling  on  his  flight.  Among  saplings  I  have  seen 
autumn  cock  twist  worse,  and  have  found  them  more 
difficult  to  kill,  than  the  wildest  spring  snipe  I  have  ever 
shot,  especially  if  they  have  been  raised  by  a  beater,  or  by 
spaniels,  when  they  will  dart  hither  and  thither  like  bullets 
through  the  leafless  trees.  It  is  only  quick  and  slashing 
snap  shots  that  will  fetch  them,  and  sometimes  the  very 
best  shots  will  unavoidably  miss,  from  the  bird  dropping 
suddenly  three  or  four  feet  with  a  jerking  twist  at  the  very 
point  of  time  when  the  trigger  is  drawn ;  so  that,  no  matter 
how  true  the  aim,  the  charge  must  go  over  him. 

In  marking  him,  the  same  rules  are  to  be  observed  now 
as  in  summer  shooting ;  but  whereas  he  then  rarely  flew 
fifty  yards,  or  went  out  of  sight,  he  will  now  soar  away 
half  a  mile,  leave  the  wood  he  is  flushed  in,  and  perhaps 
fly  across  a  valley  or  a  dozen  open  fields,  and  drop  on  a 
ferny  hill-side,  or  in  a  single  willow  bush  by  some  lonely 
spring. 

Nothing  can  be  said,  with  certainty,  I  believe,  con- 


328  MANUAL   FOE    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

cerning  the  lying  of  woodcock  in  autumn,  except  that  the) 
are  never,  so  far  as  I  ani  aware,  found,  as  they  are  in  some 
districts  during  the  summer,  in  perfectly  open  meadow- 
land.  Generally  they  seem  to  frequent  drier  and  higher 
woodlands  on  the  hill-sides  and  slopes  in  autumn,  among 
second  growth  and  saplings,  or  what  the  country  people 
usually  call  sprouts.  Still,  I  think,  on  the  whole,  the  finest 
autumn  woodcock  shooting  I  have  ever  had,  has  been  in 
maple  swamps,  and  wet  brakes  adjacent  to  bog  meadows, 
identical  in  fact  with  their  summer  feeding  ground.  I 
should  say,  that  the  only  sure  rule  is  to  beat  every  various 
sort  of  ground  until  you  do  find  them ;  the  later  in  the 
season  the  more  they  affect  warm,  well-sheltered  coverts, 
where  there  are  living  springs  and  streamlets  which  never 
freeze.  In  such  places  they  frequently  linger  till  sharp 
frosts  set  in,  and  in  these  I  have  found  them,  on  more  than 
one  occasion,  in  countless  swarms,  evidently  congregated 
for  the  purpose  of  emigration.  I  have  observed  that  this 
was  always  near  the  full  of  the  moon,  and  that,  on  the  day 
following  the  occurrence  of  these  assemblages,  there  was 
not  a  bird  left  in  the  country. 

Hare-shooting  with  regular  sportsmen,  is  little  regarded 
as  a  separate  sport,  though  it  well  deserves  to  be  so  ;  it  is 
in  fact,  for  the  most  part,  shot  by  such  only,  when  it  is  now 
and  then  kicked  up  out  of  a  brier  bush  over  a  dead  point, 
in  the  course  of  a  day's  autumn  shooting. 

In  many  parts  of  the  country,  however,  where  either 
of  the  varieties,  the  little  American  hare  or  rabbit,  and 
the  great  northern  hare,  which  turns  white  in  winter,  are 
abundant,  the  farmers  are  in  the  habit  of  turning  out  in 


AUTUMN    SHOOTING.  329 

large  parties  with  hounds,  toward  Christmas,  and  driving 
the  woods  as  in  European  battues,  when  at  times  much 
sport  is  to  be  had. 

Wherever  hares  are  plentiful,  it  would  well  repay  the 
ardent  sportsman  to  keep  a  couple  or  two  of  small  beagles 
on  purpose  for  this  sport,  which  is  much  prettier  and  more 
advantageously  pursued  than  the  famous  English  rabbit- 
shooting,  which  it  much  resembles  ;  inasmuch  as  the  hare 
never,  like  the  rabbit,  frustrates  both  dog  and  gun  by 
taking  to  the  earth,  since  it  burrows  only  in  the  breeding 
season,  and  even  then,  I  believe,  rather  uses  some  natural 
cavity  in  the  ground,  under  a  stone  or  in  a  hollow  stump, 
than  excavates  a  hiding-place  for  its  own  use. 

There  is  not  much  art  in  hunting  these  timid  little 
animals ;  one  has  only  to  be  out  betimes  with  the  busy  little 
beagles  along  the  wood  edges,  which  abut  on  meadows  or 
grain  stubbles,  while  the  dew  is  on  the  herbage ;  or  in  the 
green  woodpaths  among  the  coverts  which  they  love,  such 
as  bushy  barrens,  with  bare  spaces  intervening  among 
scrub  oaks,  dwarf  pines  and  laurels — to  find  their  trail  as 
they  come  in  from  feeding. 

The  merry  little  hounds  will  soon  push  them  up,  and 
will  stick  to  them  stanchly,  following  them  through  all 
their  mazes  with  unerring  industry,  and  making  the  low 
woods  vocal  with  their  small  but  sonorous  melody. 

One  may  easily  keej>  up  with  them  if  he  pleases,  for 
their  speed  through  the  covert  does  not  exceed  a  man's 
fair  jog-trot,  and  it  is  beautiful  to  see  them  work  and  cast 
themselves,  and  feather  to  tl.e  scent,  and  spring  to  their 
companions  when  one  opens  on  his  game ;  but  the  way  to 


330  MANUAL    FOR   YO17NG   SPORTSMEN. 

kill  the  most  hares  is  to  stand  still,  pretty  well  concealed 
by  some  pine  bush  or  stump,  keeping  every  limb  perfectly 
motionless,  with  as  many  open  glades  around  you  and 
under  your  eye  as  you  can  command,  nearly  in  the  spot 
from  which  the  game  was  first  started.  He  is  perfectly 
certain  to  return,  once  and  again  ;  for  it  is  his  nature  ever 
to  run  in  small  rings,  endeavoring  to  deceive  his  pursuers 
by  foiling  his  own  track,  rather  than  to  outstrip  them  by 
speed.  I  never  knew  an  instance  of  either  variety  going 
straight  away,  or  of  the  beagles  being  above  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  out  of  hearing.  Indeed,  they  are  rarely  so  long 
absent.  Their  cheery  cry  at  the  return  will  tell  the 
sportsman  when  and  in  which  direction  to  look  for  his 
game  ;  but  he  must  look  sharp,  or  he  will  be  apt  to  find,  to 
his  astonishment,  by  seeing  the  hounds  carry  the  scent 
past  his  face  within  ten  paces,  that  the  small  gray  rascal 
has  stolen  before  his  eyes  unobserved,  under  cover  of — it  is 
wonderful  how — little  brush  or  low  herbage,  or  jumped 
across  an  opening  while  his  eyes  were  momentarily  averted. 
Again,  if  he  do  not  keep  himself  perfectly  motionless, 
his  time  is  thrown  away.  A  hare  before  hounds,  and 
sometimes  even  a  deer,  if  the  wind  be  not  fairly  in  his 
nostrils  from  the  enemy,  will  run  straight  up  to  a  man, 
standing  in  full  view  in  the  open,  if  he  move  not  hand, 
head  nor  foot,  as  if  he  were  a  post,  perhaps  mistaking  him 
for  such.  But  let  him  wink  but  an  eyelid  perceptibly,  and 
it  will  be  off"  at  a  tangent,  like  lightning.  It  is  singular, 
indeed  ;  but  his  voice  not  only  has  less  effect  in  deterring 
the  animal  or  increasing  its  speed,  than  the  show  of  any 
movement,  but  actually  causes  it  to  stop  and  listen. 


AT7TFMN    SHOOTING.  331 

A  sharp  whistle,  or  the  simulated  bleat  of  a  fawn,  will 
cause  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  wary  animals  to 
stop  short  in  full  career,  within  point  blank  range  of  the 
gun ;  and  the  hare,  at  such  an  interruption,  will  sit  up  on 
end,  with  one  ear  cocked  forward  and  the  other  backward 
to  catch  the  smallest  sound. 

The  hare  has  the  power  and  the  habit,  it  seems,  in  a 
great  degree,  of  turning  its  large  and  prominent  eyeballs  so 
as  to  turn  its  range  of  vision,  when  pursued,  as  it  does  its 
ears,  almost  directly  backward  ;  and  it  must  be  something 
A'ery  abrupt  and  decided  in  the  way  of  sound  or  sight, 
directly  in  front  of  it,  which  shall  attract  its  attention. 

This  does  not  appear  to  me  to  extend  to  such  a  length 
in  the  American  as  in  the  European  hare ;  which  latter, 
when  flying  in  terror  from  sounds  behind  it,  as  in  a 
battue,  seems  to  be  wholly  blind  to  every  thing  in  front  of 
it,  and  has  been  known  to  run  actually  into  the  mouth  of  a 
dog,  and  to  break  its  neck  by  coming  into  collision  with 
one  of  its  fellows  flying  in  similar  consternation,  along 
some  winding  woodpath. 

Though  it  is,  however,  easy  enough  to  get  shots  at  the 
hare  running  before  hounds  in  covert,  it  is  by  no  means  so 
easy  to  shoot  him  ;  and  many  men,  who  can  follow  a  wild 
duck  cutting  the  air  at  the  rate  of  ninety  miles  an  hour — 
which,  by  the  way,  is  his  ordinary  measured  speed — with  a 
heavy  duck-gun,  and  bring  him  down  to  a  certain,  will  be 
puzzled  and  foiled  completely  by  a  hare  dodging  in  a 
brake,  or  glancing  across  a  wood  road,  seen  for  a  second, 
and  lost  as  soon  as  seen.  Here  no  following  is  possible, 
and  the  man  who  expects  to  kill  his  hare  by  shooting  at 


332  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

him,  might  as  well  shoot  at  the  moon,  in  the  hope  of  bring- 
ing it  down  with  a  charge  of  a  double  B.  To  kill  him  the 
instant  he  shows  his  nose  out  of  the  brake  on  one  side  of 
the  footpath,  up  with  your  gun  and  blaze  away,  like 
lightning,  at  the  edge  of  the  bushes  on  the  opposite  side. 
If  you  take  your  level  at  the  right  height — that  is  to  say, 
low  enough — when  he  has  disappeared  across  the  path  in 
the  shrubbery  beyond,  and  you  have  reloaded  and  recapped 
your  gun,  you  will  find  him  dead,  shot  in  the  forepart, 
lying  just  where  he  fell,  having  turned  one  summersault 
after  the  shot  struck  him. 

A  single  couple  of  beagles  is  all  that  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  this  pretty  and  enlivening  pastime  ;  but  it  is 
needless  to  say,  that  the  more  there  are  in  the  field  the 
merrier  is  the  cry  and  the  greater  the  sport. 

Wherever  there  are  extensive  ranges  of  scrub-oak 
barrens,  pine  barrens,  or  any  tracts  of  low  bushy  under- 
wood, there  is  little  doubt  of  finding  the  smaller  hare  in 
abundance. 

He  is  plentiful  in  the  woodlands  of  southern  New  Jer- 
sey, and  in  the  old  fields  and  worn-out  lands  of  Maryland, 
Delaware,  and  Virginia. 

In  the  pine  forests  of  Maine  the  larger  hare  is  abun- 
dant, and  with  two  guns  and  ten  couple  of  the  right  sort 
of  hounds,  I  could  desire  no  better  sport  than  to  hunt  him 
on  some  fine  bright  September  morning. 


WILD  FOWL  SHOOTING. 

WILD  fowl  shooting  in  America  may  properly  be  distin- 
guished into  three  classes  :  the  Chesapeake  Bay  shooting,  to 
which,  as  the  finest  of  all,  both  in  the  quality  of  the  game 
killed  and  the  greatness  of  the  sport,  the  palm  must  be 
assigned ;  sea-shooting,  over  decoys,  which,  though  tedious, 
and  requiring  much  exposure  to  wild  wintry  weather,  is 
a  favorite  amusement  with  enthusiastic  sportsmen ;  and 
lastly  inland  duck-shooting,  which,  in  the  places  where  it 
is  to  be  had  in  perfection,  is  a  most  exciting  and  delightful 
pursuit. 

The  game  killed,  in  these  three  different  kinds  of 
sport,  are  as  different  as  the  modes  adopted  of  bringing 
them  to  bag. 


334  MANUAL    FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

In  the  Chesapeake  Bay  shooting,  in  which  I  include,  of 
course,  all  the  rivers  which  debouch  into  that  fine  sheet  of 
water,  all  more  or  less  frequented  in  winter  by  innumer- 
able legions  of  wild  fowl,  the  birds  most  commonly  met 
with  and  most  eagerly  pursued,  are  the  wild  swan,  Cycnus 
Americanus — a  species  peculiar  to  the  American  Conti- 
nent; the  canvas-back  &\ick,fuligula  valisneria,  so  named 
from  the  wild  celery,  which  is  its  favorite  food,  whence  it 
derives  its  delicious  flavor  ;  the  red-head,  fuligula  ferina, 
next  in  excellence  to  the  canvas-back,  and  little  inferior  to 
it  when  killed  in  the  region  of  wild  rice  and  wild  celery; 
the  American  widgeon  or  bald-pate,  anas  Americana,  and 
the  scaup,  broad-bill,  blue-bill,  or  black-head,  as  it  is 
variously  denominated  in  various  localities,  the  latter 
being  its  Chesapeake  alias,  anas  Marila;  these  being 
considered  the  choicest,  and  those  which  improve  most  by 
the  food  of  that  region. 

These  birds,  with  the  ordinary  wild  goose,  anas  Cana- 
densis,  do  not  generally  appear  in  these  waters  until  the 
middle  of  November,  when  the  cold  has  already  been 
severe  at  the  north,  and  ice  is  beginning  to  make  even  in 
those  warmer  regions. 

The  smaller  ducks,  such  as  the  bufiel-headed  'duck, 
anas  albida,  the  ruddy  duck,  anas  rubida,  and  the  long- 
tailed  duck  or  south-southerly,  anas  glacialis,  make  their 
appearance  somewhat  earlier  in  the  season  ;  but  they  are 
little  regarded,  and  seldom  pursued  by  sportsmen. 

Of  the  larger  ducks,  all  of  which  feed  on  the  same 
grasses,  and  acquire  so  nearly  the  same  flavor  that  they  are 
not  easily  distinguishable  even  by  epicures,  the  canvas- 


WILD   FOWL   SHOOTING.  335 

back  is  the  first,  the  red-head,  or,  according  to  some,  the 
widgeon  is  the  second,  and  the  scaup,  or  black-head,  the 
least  deserving  of  the  lot. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  within  the  last  few  years 
the  English  widgeon,  and  the  English  green- winged  teal, 
atias  Penelope,  and  anas  Crecca,  both  of  which  are  dis- 
tinct varieties  from  the  American  kinds,  distinguishable 
by  small  though  plain  and  immutable  marks,  are  becoming 
frequent  among  us,  working  their  way,  as  it  would  seem, 
from  the  north-east  south-westerly,  having  been,  until 
within  the  last  twenty-five  years,  unknown  on  this  continent. 

The  annexed  cut  represents  the  English  widgeon,  the 
principal  difference  between  which  and  the  American  bird 
is,  that  the  former  has  the  whole  of  the  wing-coverts  pure 
white,  tipped  with  black,  whereas  in  the  latter  the  pri- 
mary coverts  are  brown  and  the  secondaries  only  white. 
This  distinction  is  well  preserved  in  the  cut,  as  also  the 
variation  in  the  shape  and  coloring  of  the  head  and  bill. 


336  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

The  English  widgeon  was  first  noticed  by  Mr.  J.  N. 
Lawrence  in  Fulton  market,  having  been  shot  on  Long 
Island,  and  the  discovery  was  communicated  by  him  to 
Mr.  Giraud,  who  has  embodied  it  in  his  admirable  work  on 
the  birds  of  Long  Island.  Since  that  period,  however,  it 
has  been  killed  so  frequently  as  to  merit  a  place  among 
the  birds  of  America. 

The  existence  on  this  continent  of  the  English  green- 
winged  teal,  which  wants  the  peculiar  lunated  bar  of  white, 
bifurcated  at  the  inferior  extremity,  crossing  the  scapulars, 
which  is  so  conspicuous  in  the  males  of  the  American 
species,  I  was  myself,  I  believe,  the  first  to  establish ; 
having  remarked  the  fact — which  had  induced  me,  in  the 
first  instance,  to  suppose  the  distinctive  bar  a  mere  casual 
variation,  not  a  specific  distinction — that  I  had  unques- 
tionably shot  many  birds  in  this  country,  without  that 
mark,  to  Mr.  J.  C.  Bell,  the  distinguished  naturalist  and 
taxidermist  of  New  York,  who  had  then  no  knowledge  of 
the  bird  as  belonging  to  this  country,  but  who  informed 
me  only  the  other  day,  that  recently  many  specimens  have 
been  brought  to  him.  It  was  previously  known  to  exist 
in  Nova  Scotia. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  here,  that  many  varieties  of 
wild  fowl,  formerly  confined  to  extreme  northern  and 
southern  latitudes,  .are,  of  late,  greatly  extending  their 
ranges,  and  meeting,  as  it  were,  midway  between  their 
natural  abodes.  Several  Arctic  fowls,  which  were  former- 
ly never  seen  westward  of  Cape  Cod,  and  others  of  which 
the  farthest  eastern  limit  was  the  Cape  of  Florida,  now 


WILD   FOWL   SHOOTING.  337 

meet,  as  it  were,  on  the  neutral  ground  of  the  Jersey  bays 
arid  the  Long  Island  shore. 

The  method  of  shooting  wild  fowl  on  Chesapeake  Bay, 
is  to  wait  for  them  as  they  fly  up  and  down,  in  proportion 
as  the  flats  on  which  they  feed  are  submerged  too  deeply 
for  their  use  by  the  rise  of  the  spring  tides,  behind  screens 
erected  for  the  purpose  on  the  points  and  islands  over 
which  they  must  necessarily  pass,  and  thence  shoot  them 
on  the  wing. 

The  sport  often  had  by  parties  at  these  points,  which 
are  for  the  most  part  rented  by  clubs  of  sportsmen  or  by 
individuals,  and  very  jealously  preserved,  is  magnificent. 
The  shooting,  however,  is  peculiar,  and  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult to  those  unused  to  it,  who  are  apt  to  miss  all  sorts  of 
fair  shots,  though  good  marksmen  on  the  upland  at  other 
game.  This  is  owing  to  the  fact,  that  many  of  the  shots 
have  to  be  fired  almost  perpendicularly  in  the  air  at  flocks 
passing  directly  over  the  sportsman's  head — a  diflicult  shot 
at  the  best  to  kill,  and  one  in  which  it  is  doubly  diflicult 
to  make  a  large  allowance  for  the  distance  and  the  speed 
at  which  the  fowl  are  flying.  This  is,  moreover,  very 
deceptive.  Duck  of  all  kinds,  although  their  flight  appears 
slow  and  lumbering  with  a  vast  expenditure  of  flapping, 
fly  infinitely  faster  than  is  commonly  supposed,  as  is  evi- 
dent from  their  having  been  minuted  by  telegraph  while 
passing  points  and  promontories  on  the  sea-coast,  and 
found  to  travel,  when  on  their  ordinary  comings  and  goings, 
at  the  rate  of  ninety  miles  an  hour.  Of  all  the  missed 
shots  at  ducks  flying  past  or  over  the  gun,  nineteen- twen- 
tieths fall  far  behind  the  object. 
15 


338  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

Another  point  worthy  of  notice  is  this,  that  the  breast 
of  all  wild  fowl  is  nearly  impenetrably  cuirassed  against 
shot  by  the  dense  cushion  of  down  which  envelopes  it,  and 
that  a  blow  behind  is  rarely  on  the  instant  effective  to 
bring  down  the  fowl.  So  that  unless  the  charge  take 
effect  in  the  head  and  neck,  well  before  the  wing,  or  a 
pinion  be  broken,  the  shot  is  generally  thrown  away.  It 
is,  therefore,  scarcely  possible  to  fire  too  far  in  advance  of 
a  single  bird,  crossing  or  passing  over  the  gun  at  from 
forty  to  sixty  yards'  distance. 

The  guns  most  generally  used  are  double-barrels  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  pounds'  weight,  and  about  8  calibre  ;  I 
greatly  advise,  however,  the  use  of  two  single  guns,  each 
of  fourteen  Ibs.  and  5  gauge,  which  will  carry  a  quarter  of 
a  Ib.  of  shot  with  ease  from  the  shoulder,  will  chamber  BB 
as  easily  as  the  others  will  No.  2 — will  recoil  less,  and  will 
do  their  work  at  flocks  far  more  effectively  at  long  or  short 
ranges. 

These  guns,  moreover,  are  infinitely  safer,  and  are 
handled  as  readily,  if  lightened  toward  the  muzzle  by 
removing  the  ramrod  and  ramrod  pipes,  using  a  detached 
loading-rod  instead,  and  if  needful,  improving  the  balance 
of  the  piece  by  loading  the  butt  with  lead.  A  little  prac- 
tice will  soon  enable  a  sportsman  to  use  two  of  these  guns 
quickly  enough  to  discharge  both  into  the  same  flock,  and 
if  he  succeed  in  doing  so,  great  will  be  the  havoc  he  will 
make. 

Another  method,  much  employed  in  this  paradise  of 
duck  shooters,  is  to  iole  the  ducks,  as  it  is  called,  while 
they  are  feeding  along  shore,  quite  out  of  range,  into 


WILD   FOWL    SHOOTING.  339 

shooting  distance  of  the  ambushed  fowler,  by  mean^  of  a 
dog  *  trained  to  gambol  to  and  fro  along  the  margin  of  the 
stream,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
fowl,  which  are  so  easily  excited  to  a  sort  of  insane  curiosity 
by  his  movements,  that  the  same  flock  have  been  known  to 
swim  in  half  a  dozen  successive  times,  each  time  receiving 
a  murderous  volley,  and  leaving  the  waters  strewed  with 
their  dead  and  wounded,  without  appearing  to  take  per- 
manent alarm.  The  black-head  is,  of  all  the  ducks  which 
frequent  those  waters,  that  which  is  toled  the  most  readily, 
and  the  bald-pate  the  shyest. 

The  shots  obtained  in  this  manner  are,  of  course,  sit- 
ting shots,  the  birds  sailing  in  from  forty  to  seventy  yards' 
distance  from  the  shore  ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  remember, 
that  nothing  is  so  deceptive  as  shooting  over  water;  that  as 
the  gunner  lies  in  ambush,  he  is  almost  precisely  on  the 
level  of  his  object,  and  that  it  is  the  natural  effect  of  these 
causes  to  produce  an  overshooting  of  his  mark.  If  the 
piece  be  levelled  directly,  as  it  seems,  at  the  middle  of  the 
flock,  the  whole  charge  will  almost  surely  pass  far  above 
them.  The  correct  way  to  aim  is  to  see  the  whole  of  the 
nearest  duck  in  full  relief  above  the  sight ;  this  level  will 
in  all  probability  rake  the  entire  breadth  of  the  mass  of 
ducks,  and  even  if  the  charge  strike  on  the  near  side  of 
them,  the  ricochet  will  be  far  more  fatal  than  a  plunging 
shot. 

Paddling  up  to  the  birds  in  canoes  on  the  feeding 
grounds,  sailing  into  them,  or  firing  with  heavy  swivels 

*  The  action  of  the  dog  is  described  above,  under  the  head  of 
Retrievers,  at  p.  218. 


3-iO  MANUAL   FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

from  punts,  are  strictly  prohibited,  as  they  cause  the  fowl 
wholly  to  desert  places  where  such  practices  obtain,  and  are 
esteemed — and  that  deservedly — unsportsmanlike,  and  un- 
worthy of  gentlemen. 

For  all  fowl  shooting  on  salt  water,  where  the  saline 
particles  of  the  atmosphere  disorganize  the  gunpowder 
from  their  affinity  with  the  saltpetre,  large  coarse-grained 
cannon  powder  is  preferable  to  the  finer  article,  and  the 
best  of  all  is  Hawker's  ducking  powder,  prepared  by  Cur- 
tis and  Harvey.  This,  with  the  best  of  Starkey's  central 
fire-caps,  will  insure  the  discharge  of  the  gun  even  in  a 
sea-mist. 

For  the  rest,  I  think  fowl  shooters  almost  invariably 
overcharge  with  powder,  and  use  shot  of  too  coarse  a 
grain.  The  shot  is  amply  large,  which  will  break  the  pin- 
ion of  the  game  at  which  it  is  fired,  at  seventy  yards.  All 
extra  weight  is  thrown  away,  with  a  positive  Loss  in  the 
number  of  shot  lodged  in  the  same  space. 

SS  in  green  cartridges  are  all  very  well  for  wild  swan 
shooting,  and  in  4  oz.  cartridges  for  a  gun  of  5  calibre,  it 
will  be  difficult  to  say  how  far  they  will  not  carry,  and 
kill.  I  should  dislike  marvellously  to  be  in  the  fair  range 
of  one  at  half  a  mile.  BB  is  proper  for  geese  or  brant, 
but  for  all  other  fowl,  for  the  largest  shoulder-guns  1  or  2 
is  amply  large  for  any  range  ;  and  from  guns  not  exceeding 
10  gauge,  No  3  or  4  will  do  more  execution.  Equal  meas- 
ures, not  weights,  of  shot  and  powder,  are,  in  my  judg- 
ment, the  best  proportions  for  all  guns. 

Sea-shooting  of  wild  fowl,  as  it  is  practised  on  all  the 
bays  as  they  are  improperly  called,  being  in  truth  shallow, 


WILD   FOWL   SHOOTING. 


341 


land-locked  sheets  of  water  or  lagoons,  lying  along  the 
greater  part  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  of  the  United  States, 
from  Florida  so  far  north  as  to  the  eastern  extremity  of 
Long  Island,  between  an  outer  beach  or  sea-bank  of  sand 
or  shingle,  thrown  up  by  the  action  of  the  surf  and  under- 
tow, and  the  main  land,  is  for  the  most  part  of  one  char- 
acter. 


It  is  prosecuted  either  from  boats,  concealed  in  nooks 
cut  out  of  the  sedgy  points  or  islands  of  sedge  and  hassock, 
with  which  these  waters  abound,  and  partially  covered 
with  reeds,  sea-weed,  salt  meadow  hay,  and  other  trash ; 
or  from  what  are  technically  called  batteries,  narrow, 
shallow,  coffin-like  boxes  of  wood,  just  large  enough  to 
contain  one  person  lying  flat  on  his  back,  provided  with  a 
margin  of  boards  nearly  horizontal,  but  slightly  inclined 
upward  at  the  outer  edge  like  the  brim  of  a  soup-plate, 
which,  resting  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  support  the  box 


342  MANUAL   FOB    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

itself,  so  that  it  cannot  absolutely  sink,  but  is  submerged 
by  the  weight  of  the  concealed  shooter  until  its  edges  are 
level  with  the  sea  on  which  it  rests.  The  flat  boards  or 
margins  above  described,  are  covered  with  sand,  pebbles, 
small  shells,  and  sea-weeds,  so  that  it  resembles  a  little 
shoal  peering  above  the  water,  or  a  lot  of  floating  wrack 
and  trash,  and  is  not  suspected  by  the  fowl. 

This  treacherous  contrivance  is  moored  exactly  on  the 
flats  where  the  fowl  feed,  the  gunner  is  conveyed  to  it  in  a 
boat  by  a  partner,  who,  as  soon  as  he  is  perfectly  ensconced 
and  invisible,  with  his  heavy  guns  and  ammunition,  and 
provided  with  his  fleet  of  decoys  of  all  kinds  and  sizes, 
exactly  representing  all  the  varieties  of  fowl  which  he  may 
expect,  riding  at  anchor  around  him,  within  half  gunshot, 
rows  off  to  a  distance,  and  plies  busily  about  the  bays, 
disturbing  all  the  flocks  he  can  discover  on  the  feed,  in 
the  hope  that,  as  they  fly  over,  they  may  descry  the  decoys 
and  fly  to  them. 

When  the  roar  of  his  confederate's  gun  informs  him 
that  execution  has  been  done,  he  rows  to  the  spot,  gathers 
up  the  cripples,  and  withdraws  again  as  before  to  beat  up 
the  neighboring  flats  and  shallows  for  fresh  teams  of 
victims. 

The  slaughter  committed  from  these  batteries  is  often 
prodigious  ;  but  so  irksome,  if  not  actually  painful  is  the 
cramped  position  in  which  the  sportsman  is  compelled  to 
lie,  that,  to  my  thinking,  it  scarcely  can  be  called  sport. 

Unsportsmanlike,  in  one  sense,  it  certainly  is  to  the 
last  degree,  that  it  harasses  the  birds  to  such  an  extent,  by 
the  very  fact  that  they  are  slain  unseen  and  unsuspecting 


WILD    FOWL    SHOOTING.  343 

on  their  very  feeding  grounds,  where  most  they  desire  to 
be  quiet  and  unmolested,  as  in  the  end,  if  long  persisted 
in,  to  make  them  entirely  abandon  the  flats  on  which  it  is 
practised,  and  betake  themselves  to  other  and  safer  local- 
ities. 

For  this  reason  the  use  of  these  batteries  has  been 
generally  prohibited  by  law ;  but  on  Long  Island,  as  all 
other  statutory  provisions  for  the  protection  of  game,  this 
salutary  enactment  is  utterly  disregarded,  and  the  birds 
are  decimated  daily  throughout  the  season,  where  they 
ought  to  be  the  most  protected,  and  are  accordingly  be- 
coming annually  fewer,  wilder,  and  less  easy  of  access. 

On  the  Jersey  waters  of  Squam  Beach,  Barnegat, 
greater  and  lesser  Egg  Harbor,  and  other  places  of  equal 
resort  by  wild  fowl,  the  use  of  these  destructive  machines 
is  proscribed  by  public  opinion  of  the  gunners  themselves  ; 
and  these  men  being  a  bold,  hardy,  lawless,  and  some  say, 
half-piratical  race,  half-fowlers,  half-fishermen,  and  more 
than  half- wreckers,  who  are  apt  to  enforce  the  laws  of  their 
own  enactment  by  the  strong  hand  and  with  the  aid  of  their 
Queen  Anne's  muskets  and  a  handful  of  heavy  shot ;  the 
prohibition  of  batteries,  as  also  of  sail-boats  provided  with 
swivels,  is  on  the  whole  enforced  with  tolerable  regularity. 

On  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  the  law  again 
provides  against  the  use  of  batteries,  as  also  of  sail-boats, 
and  punts  with  swivels;  but  here  also  it  is  the  strong  hand 
of  the  lawful  and  sportsmanlike  gunners  which  alone  carries 
out  and  vindicates  the  operation  of  the  law ;  and  it  is  not 
without  desperate,  and  at  times  even  bloody  affrays,  that  the 
poachers  are  prevented  from  carrying  on  their  ruinous  trade. 


344  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

In  those  waters,  however,  the  shores  for  the  most  part 
belonging  to  comparatively  few  and  wealthy  proprietors, 
the  points  and  islands  being,  as  I  have  observed,  ordinarily 
rented  by  clubs  of  sportsmen,  and  the  excellence  and 
actual  value  of  the  game  being  of  sufficient  importance  to 
render  its  protection  an  object,  the  laws  are  rigidly  en- 
forced, preservation  is  effected,  and  notwithstanding  the 
countless  multitudes  which  are  yearly  destroyed,  they  do 
not  appear  very  materially  to  decrease  in  number. 

The  other  mode,  described  above,  of  shooting  from 
boats  moored  among  the  hassocks  in  the  bays,  is  not  liable 
to  this  objection,  as  the  birds  are  shot,  not  while  in  the 
act  of  feeding,  but  always  on  the  wing,  as  they  are  passing 
up  and  down  from  one  flat  to  another,  accordingly  as  this 
is  submerged  too  deeply,  or  that  left  wholly  bare,  by  the 
rising  or  falling  of  the  tide. 

This,  it  seems,  does  not  molest  or  disturb  them  to  such 
a  degree  as  to  cause  their  abandonment  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  only  operates  so  far  as  to  render  them  shy 
and  fearful  of  the  points  whence  they  are  peppered, 
causing  them  to  fly  down  the  middle  of  the  bays  and 
channels,  without  passing  over  the  land,  if  they  can 
avoid  it. 

This  it  is  which  gives  scope  to  all  the  gunner's  ingenu- 
ity, both  in  the  selection  of  his  points  in  reference  to  the 
wind  which  may  be  blowing,  and  his  knowledge  of  the 
feeding  grounds,  in  order  that  the  fowl,  as  they  are  driven 
up  from  the  outer  beaches  by  the  rising  tides  to  the  inner 
marshes,  may  be  jammed  down  by  stress  of  weather  upon 
the  station  which  he  has  chosen ;  and  in  imitating  the 


WILD    FOWL    SHOOTING.  34:5 

call  of  the  various  species  of  which  he  is  in  pursuit,  by 
which  he  often  succeeds  in  seducing  them  down  from  their 
secure  elevation,  to  seek  company  with  his  painted  wooden 
decoys,  and  find  a  speedy  death. 

The  birds  which  are  most  easily  called  down  are  the 
Canadian  wild  geese,  the  noblest  and  best  of  all  the  tribes 
taken  in  this  fashion,  whose  loud  and  sonorous  hawnking  is 
admirably  simulated  by  many  of  the  amphibious  natives  of 
the  duck-haunted  bays,  and  not  a  few  amateurs. 

The  most  impracticable  of  them  all  is  the  brant,  the 
gabble  of  which,  somewhat  resembling  the  distant  clamor 
of  a  pack  of  hounds  in  full  cry,  is  generally  said  to  be 
inimitable  to  any  useful  end. 

The  skill  to  be  acquired  in  shooting  these  birds — for 
getting  shots  at  them,  the  amateur  gunner  is  compelled  to 
rely  on  the  skill  and  cleverness  of  his  guide  or  boatman — 
consists  only  in  shooting  sufficiently  in  advance  of  the 
passing  flocks,  or  in  keeping  the  gun  in  such  continuous 
motion,  following  up  their  flight,  that  the  shot  shall  not 
fall  behind  them. 

No  retriever  or  dog  of  any  kind  is  required  for  this 
sport  in  the  other  sea  bays,  but  in  the  Chesapeake  the  best 
Newfoundland  dogs  are  used,  and  are,  indeed,  imperatively 
necessary. 

In  regard  to  guns,  ammunition,  and  the  mode  of  charg- 
ing, especially  in  the  avoidance  of  overloading  and  the  use 
of  too  large  shot,  the  rules  prescribed  heretofore  will  be 
found  applicable. 

The  species  of  fowl  usually  killed  and  most  prized,  in 
the  Atlantic  bays  and  lagoons,  are  the  wild  goose,  anas 
15* 


346  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

Canadensis  ;  the  brant,  anas  bernicla  ;  the  scaup  or  broad- 
bill,  of  two  kinds,  greater  and  smaller,  anas  marila;  the 
dusky  duck,  anas  obscura  ;  the  red-head,  fuligula  ferina  ; 
occasionally  the  canvas-back,  fuligula  valisneria,  which 
is  but  a  third-rate  fowl  where  it  cannot  obtain  the  wild 
celery,  and  inferior  to  both  the  varieties  last  mentioned ; 
and  the  ring-necked  duck,  fuligula  rufttorques.  In 
addition  to  these,  the  coarse  and  fishy  sea-ducks,  known  as 
coots,  namely,  the  scoter,  the  velvet-duck,  and  the  surf- 
duck,  and  sometimes  the  harlequin-duck,  the  pied-duck, 
the  ring-duck,  and  even  the  eider-duck,  are  visitants  to  our 
bays  and  beaches.  Their  flesh  is,  however,  worthless,  and 
unless  for  specimens,  or,  in  the  case  of  the  last  named,  for 
its  down,  they  are  literally  not  worth  the  powder.  The 
mergansers,  commonly  known  as  shelldrakes,  fall  under  the 
same  category,  as  do  also  the  south-southerlies,  which, 
however,  for  the  most  part,  take  far  too  good  care  of  them- 
selves to  venture  near  enough  to  the  stools  to  tempt  the 
gunner's  forbearance. 

The  little  dippers,  or  buffet-headed  ducks,  are  held  in 
small  estimation  from  their  inferior  size,  and  on  salt  water 
they  are  neither  so  fat  nor  so  succulent  as  when  killed  on 
inland  ponds  and  streams,  where  they  are  highly  and 
deservedly  esteemed ;  and  the  same  is  the  case  with  the 
blue-winged  teal,  when  it  is  found  on  the  bays,  as  it  is 
at  some  seasons. 

The  winter  is  the  best  season  for  the  prosecution  of 
this  sport,  and  the  severer  the  frost,  and  the  rougher  the 
winds  and  waters,  the  better  the  chance  of  success.  It  is, 
therefore,  no  holiday  work,  no  light  matter  to  be  under- 


WILD   FOWL   SHOOTING. 


34:7 


taken  as  a  frolic,  by  rheumatic  or  otherwise  delicate  folk, 
who  are  apt  to  catch  cold  if  they  sit  in  a  thorough  draft, 
and  shiver  at  a  strong  breeze  through  a  key-hole.  It  is 
hard,  earnest,  downright  work.  It  requires  a  man,  who 
not  only  can  rough  it,  but  who  loves  to  rough  it,  for  its 
own  sake — who  can  endure  cold,  wet,  fatigue,  and  the 
weariness  of  long  waiting,  not  only  with  patience  but 
with  pleasure,  and  at  last  feel  himself  well  rewarded  if  he 
make  a  good  bag,  and  not  altogether  unrewarded,  if  he 
make  a  bad  one.  If  he  cannot  bring  himself  to  this,  he 
would  far  better  stay  at  home  by  his  cosy  fireside,  and 
pretty  wife  or  pleasant  friend ;  and,  if  he  be  past  forty- 
five  years  old,  I  do  not  know  but  he  were  wiser  to  do 
so,  whether  or  no. 


The  third  and  last  variety  of  fowl  shooting  is  inland 
duck-shooting,  whether  on  the  large  fresh  water  lakes  and 
rhiTs  of  the  interior,  on  the  vast  half  saline,  half  fresh 


348  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

meadows,  where  the  tide  waters  meet  the  springs  and 
rivulets  which  drain  the  uplands,  along  the  margin  of 
meadow-watering  brooklets,  or  on  wide,  marshy,  and  at 
times  submerged  tracts,  such  as  the  drowned  lands  of 
Orange  County,  New  York,  the  snipe  meadows  of  New 
Jersey,  the  saline  districts  of  Western  New  York,  and 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  similar  regions,  north, 
west,  east  and  south,  throughout  the  United  States  and 
British  Provinces. 

In  all  these  localities  in  the  autumn  and  the  spring, 
there  is  to  be  had  immense  sport ;  the  varieties  of  duck 
generally  killed,  all  of  which  are  excellent,  especially 
where  there  are  wild  rice  lakes,  as  in  Canada  and  the 
Western  States,  are  the  mallard  and  duck,  Anas  Bosc- 
bas ;  the  pin-tailed  duck,  Anas  acuta  ;  the  blue-winged 
teal,  Anas  discors  ;  the  green-winged  teal,  Anas  Caroli- 
nensis,  a  likeness  of  which  adorns  the  last  page,  showing 
the  lunated  bar  across  the  scapulars,  which  distinguishes 
him  from  his  European  cousin-german ;  the  golden  eye, 
Anas  clangula,  which  is  abundant  on  Lake  Champlain; 
the  summer  duck,  Dendronessa  sponsa  ;  the  buffet-headed 
duck,  Anas  albeola  /  and  the  dusky  duck,  Anas  obscura; 
which  last  must  be  added,  although  properly  it  is  a  msfrine 
rather  than  a  fresh-water  duck.  The  canvas-back,  red- 
head, scaup,  widgeon,  and  ring-necked  duck,  all  properly 
and  chiefly  sea-ducks,  are  found  on  the  western  rivers,  the 
great  lakes,  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri,  where  also  wild  geese,  wild  swans,  and  a  second 
variety  of  that  noble  bird,  unknown  elsewhere,  the  great 
trumpeter  swan,  Cycnus  Buccinator,  with  an  alar  extent 


WILD   FOWL   SHOOTING.  349 

of  no  less  than  ten  feet,  abound  on  the  waters  and  morasses. 
There  is  also  a  variety  of  brant,  known  as  Hutchins' 
brant,  and  a  large  winter  duck,  nondescript  I  believe,  until 
I  described  it  myself  after  a  visit  to  the  great  Georgian 
bay  of  Lake  Huron  in  1849,  found  in  great  numbers  in  the 
same  regions  of  which  the  snow  goose,  Anas  hyperboreus, 
and  the  white-fronted  goose,  Anas  crythriopus,  are  occa- 
sional autumnal  visitants. 

The  methods  of  hunting  wild  ducks  and  wild  geese  on 
inland  streams  and  marshes  are  threefold  :  First,  to  beat 
the  marshes  and  reed  lands  along  the  margins  of  slow- 
running,  sedgy  streams,  with  one  or  more  well  broke,  mute 
water-spaniels,  trained  to  hunt  close  and  to  retrieve. 
This  is  a  beautiful  and  scientific  sport,  the  best  mode  of 
pursuing  which,  as  well  as  of  breaking  dogs  for  it,  is 
described  at  length  under  the  head  of  water-spaniels  and 
retrievers,  at  pages  213  and  214. 

The  second  method,  one  much  practised  on  the  streams 
flowing  through  woodlands  into  the  great  northern  lakes, 
is  to  take  a  stand  at  nightfall  or  daybreak,  at  some  spot 
over  which  they  fly,  near  the  river's  mouth,  going  out  to 
the  open  lake  or  returning  to  their  roosting-places  in  the 
inland  morasses.  The  flights  last  not  above  an  hour,  or  a 
little  over,  morning  and  evening ;  but  during  that  space 
of  time  two  or  three  guns  may  occupy  themselves  in- 
cessantly, and  their  bearers  will  probably  return  well 
loaded. 

The  third  and  last  method,  is  to  paddle  slowly  and 
silently  in  a  bark  canoe,  through  the  shallow  rice  hikes  of 
Canada  and  the  West,  with  or  without  a  brace  or  two  of 


350  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

water-spaniels  swimming  constantly  about  the  barque,  to 
flush  the  living  and  retrieve  the  dead. 

The  presence  of  the  spaniels  will  add  much  to  the  in- 
terest and  perfection  of  the  sport;  but  except  as  to  retrieving 
the  cripples,  many  of  which  will  otherwise  escape,  I  know 
not  that  they  will  add  much  to  the  amount  of  the  bag ;  for 
in  those  places,  at  the  proper  season,  the  name  of  the  ducks 
is  absolutely  legion,  and  they  rise  in  such  clouds  before  the 
canoe  out  of  the  thickly  set  wild  rice,  that  the  worst  shot 
can  scarcely  fail  to  fill  his  vessel.  The  first  thing  to  be  ac- 
quired for  this  kind  of  shooting,  is  the  ability  to  move  and 
shoot  out  of  a  birch  canoe,  without  upsetting  it,  a  thing  by 
no  means  easy  to  be  done,  and  to  be  gained  only  by  practice. 

For  shooting  them,  no  other  instructions  are  required 
than  those  already  given  in  regard  to  wild  fowl  in  gen- 
eral— to  fire  quickly  on  the  first  sight,  and  to  allow  well 
for  the  speed  of  cross  shots,  or  rising  shots,  although  going 
straight  from  you. 

The  best  gun  for  inland  duck-shooting  is  the  kind 
described  above,  and  of  which  John  Mullins,  of  New  York, 
is  strongly  recommended  as  a  maker,  of  about  10  Ibs. 
weight,  10  gauge  and  thirty-four  inch  barrels,  barlocks,  and 
plain  case-hardened  steel  mountings;  such  a  piece*  will 
throw  3  oz.  of  No.  2  shot,  if  required — but  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten  4,  or  3  at  most,  will  be  amply  sufficient — with 
telling  force  over  an  ample  area,  so  as  to  kill  surely  at 
sixty  yards.  In  the  Appendix,  I  annex  a  letter  from  this 
responsible  maker,  containing  the  scale  of  his  rates  for 
guns  of  different  classes  and  calibres,  which  may  be  found 
useful  to  distant  readers. 


THE   FOREST   ATsTD   THE   PLAIN'S. 

OF  all  those  grander  wild  sports  of  the  extreme  North  and 
West,  the  moose  and  cariboo  hunting  of  the  British  pro- 
vincial forests,  and  of  the  hyperborean  regions  of  Maine; 
the  elk,  buffalo,  and  antelope  hunting  of  the  western 
plains  and  prairies ;  the  bear  hunting  of  Arkansas  and  the 
Southwest ;  nay,  even  of  the  deer  and  turkey  hunting  of 
the  regions  wherein  those  animals  are  still  to  be  found, 


352  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

survivors  of  the  innumerable  multitudes  which  formerly 
roamed  unmolested  from  ocean  to  ocean ;  there  are  no 
rules,  positive,  which  can  be  laid  down,  no  instructions 
which  can  be  of  much  use  to  the  young  sportsman. 
Where  the  rifle,  or  the  double  gun  with  buck-shot  is 
the  implement,  beyond  the  mere  directions  how  to  take 
aim,  load,  and  fire  to  the  best  advantage,  nothing  can  be 
taught. 

Of  all  things  wholly  unteachable  by  writing  or  oral 
instruction,  unless  upon  the  spot,  with  practice  and  exam- 
ple to  illustrate  precept,  the  most  impracticable  is  wood- 
craft. 

How  to  find  or  follow  the  trail  of  an  animal,  itself  not 
discernible  to  the  sharpest  unpractised  eyes,  in  the  seem- 
ingly untrodden  grass,  or  on  the  leaf-strewn  surface  of  the 
pathless  soil  of  the  wilderness,  cannot  be  taught  by  words 
written  or  spoken. 

How  to  judge  by  the  foot-prints,  half  seen,  of  bear  or 
deer,  as  a  woodman  will  do  at  a  glance,  whether  the  ani- 
mal which  left  the  sign  was  young  or  old,  fat  or  lean,  going 
to  or  returning  from  his  lair,  how  long  he  has  gone  by,  and 
whether  it  avails  to  follow  him  or  not,  can  only  be  learned 
by  long  experience,  attentive  observation,  and  a  course  of 
pupilage,  on  the  ground,  under  thorough  and  competent 
teachers. 

In  the  same  way  it  is  evident  that  one  cannot  give 
directions  how  one  shall  steal  up,  unseen  and  unheard, 
within  rifle  shot  of  a  herd  of  deer,  a  gang  of  elk,  or  a 
watchful  moose  or  cariboo.  This  may  be  told,  and  this 
is  about  all,  that  you  must  invariably  advance  on  all  wild 


THE   FOBEST   AND   THE   PLAINS.  353 

animals  which  it  is  desirable  to  stalk,  up  ivind.  If  you 
attempt  to  go  down  wind  on  them,  their  unerring  scent 
will  frustrate  your  every  endeavor,  and  render  it  impossi- 
ble to  approach  within  half  a  mile,  much  less  within  gun- 
shot of  the  quarry.  It  is  wise  also  to  stalk  game  so  far 
as  it  is  possible,  owing  to  the  state  of  the  wind,  with  the 
sun  on  your  back  and  in  their  eyes. 

Wild  fowl  on  the  water  are  more  easily  stalked,  where 
the  ground  will  allow  it,  from  below  upward,  and  mountain- 
dwelling  animals  from  above  downward,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  these  are  apt  to  be  expectant,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, of  enemies  coming  upon  them  from  higher,  those 
from  lower  ground. 

Deer  are  killed  by  three  different  methods :  driving 
with  hounds  to  guns  posted  at  such  passes  as  the  hunted 
animals  are  likely  to  make  for  when  afoot  before  dogs ; 
pursuing  on  horseback,  across  country,  with  packs  of 
hounds,  having  it  in  view  to  shoot  them  with  buck-shot, 
whenever  the  rider  can  approach  them  nearly  enough  to 
do  so ;  and  still-hunting,  or  stalking  them  in  the  forest,  or 
on  the  plains,  without  the  aid  of  dogs,  relying  on  the  eye 
and  intelligence  of  the  sportsman  alone. 

Fire-hunting  from  canoes  by  night,  and  lying  in  am- 
bush at  some  solitary  drinking-place  or  salt-lick,  I  cannot 
regard  as  legitimate  sporting,  though  both  are  undenia- 
ble ways  of  getting  venison,  when  one  happens  to  be  in 
want  of  it ;  because  I  conceive  there  is  no  sport,  where 
there  is  no  skill  exhibited,  no  doubt  of  success,  and  no 
chance  of  escape  left  to  the  quarry  either  by  flight  or 
resistance. 


354  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Neither  do  I  dwell  upon  shooting  deer  over  pointers — 
for  not  describing  which,  I  have  seen  myself  recently 
grossly  and  abusively  commented  upon  by  a  vulgar,  illiter- 
ate, anonymous  western  clown,  writing  under  the  signature 
of  "  Quid,"  from  Quincy,  Illinois,  in  the  columns  of  the 
New  York  Spirit  of  the  Times,  who  neither  spells  correct- 
ly nor  writes  grammatically,  and  who  resorts  to  the  con- 
temptible meanness  of  making  false  quotations  from  my 
works  in  order  to  magnify  himself  and  make  a  case  against 
me.  Of  course,  both  I,  and — as  I  presume — my  friend 
Dr.  Lewis,  who  comes  in  likewise  for  a  share  of  this  name- 
less slanderer's  abuse — must  feel  highly  gratified  to  learn 
that  our  writings  are  read  by  such  fellows  as  "  Quid  "  with 
"  disgust  and  loathing."  Mine,  at  least,  are  only  intended 
for  men  who  feel  like  gentlemen  and  act  like  sportsmen. 

But  to  return  from  this  brief  digression,  I  have  not 
described  deer-shooting  over  pointers — not  because  it  is 
any  thing  new  or  unknown  that  a  pointer  or  setter  will 
stand  upon  deer  if  he  get  a  chance,  or  that,  if  he  get  a 
chance  point  at  one,  a  sportsman  would  and  could  shoot 
him  with  buck-shot — but  simply  because  the  places  where 
such  things  can  be  done  systematically,  if  any  where,  are 
so  rare  as  to  be  out  of  all  rule  of  example ;  because, 
neither  I,  nor,  I  will  venture  to  say,  one  in  ten  thousand 
of  all  the  deer  hunters  in  America  ever  dreamed  of  going 
out,  of  set  purpose,  to  beat  for  deer  with  setters;  and 
because,  if  there  be  any  place  where  this  can  be  done,  there 
are  other  modes  which  would  afford  five  times  the  sport. 

In  a  word,  however,  I  utterly  disbelieve  that  Mr.  Quid, 
either  at  Quincy,  Illinois,  or  any  where  else,  ever  got  fif- 


THE  FOREST   AND   THE   PLAINS.  355 

teen  points  at  deer,  and  killed  half  the  number,  as  he 
implies,  in  a  morning.  This  is,  however,  but  the  ignoble 
work  of  breaking  a  butterfly  on  the  wheel !  Let  Mr. 
Quid  go! 

In  these  three  kinds  of  deer  hunting,  all  that  the 
beginner  has  to  do,  is,  if  placed  at  a  stand,  to  hold  himself 
perfectly  silent,  perfectly  motionless,  perfectly  observant 
and  attentive,  neither  to  smoke  cigars,  nor  go  to  sleep ; 
neither  to  fire  his  gun  at  any  thing  but  the  deer,  nor  to 
let  the  deer  go  past  without  firing  at  him.  In  a  word,  let 
him  keep  his  mouth  shut,  his  eyes  open,  and  his  head 
clear,  trust  in  Providence,  and  be  patient. 

If  he  be  riding  to  hounds,  let  him  choose  out  the  best 
rider,  and  the  person  best  acquainted  with  the  country 
whom  to  follow,  let  him  stick  upon  his  horse  as  well  as  he 
can,  hold  him  hard  by  the  head  with  the  snaffle,  keep  his 
spurs  out  of  his  sides,  put  his  head  straight  at  whatever 
fence  he  means  to  take,  refuse  no  necessary,  and  ride  at  no 
unnecessary,  leap,  and  when  he  fires,  grip  the  horse  firmly 
with  the  knees,  and  bear  his  weight  on  the  stirrup  of  the 
side  toward  which  he  fires,  rather  than  on  the  other, 
since,  if  the  horse  swerve,  it  will  be  away  from  the  shot, 
not  toward  it.  If  he  be  riding  at  speed  on  parallel  lines 
with  the  game  at  which  he  shoots,  little  allowance  will  be 
necessary,  as  the  gun  and  its  object  advance  at  nearly 
equal  rates. 

In  still-hunting,  which  no  one,  a  novice,  of  course, 
dreams  of  doing,  except  in  company  with  an  experienced 
guide,  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  follow  silently  in  his 
wake,  imitate  all  his  motions,  observe  all  that  he  observes, 


356  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

and  whatever  else  one  may ;  ask  for  explanations,  not  at 
the  time,  but  by  the  camp  fire,  when  the  hunt  is  over ;  keep 
cool,  and  when  the  critical  moment  come,  if  come  it  may, 
take  as  good  an  aim  and  shoot  as  quickly  and  as  straight 
as  he  can. 

Elk  and  moose  hunting,  and  yet  more,  cariboo  hunting, 
partake  all  of  the  character  of  still-hunting — except  the 
pursuit  of  the  former  when  it  is  made  with  greyhounds  or 
deer  hounds  on  the  prairies — with  the  addition  of  difficulty 
and  hardship  of  running  many  miles  on  snow-shoes  in  pur- 
suit of  the  vast  and  cumbrous  animals  over  the  frozen  snow 
crust  of  the  wintry  wilderness,  and  camping  out  many  nights 
in  succession,  under  the  inclement  sky  of  the  high  northern 
latitudes,  with  the  thermometer  at  40  degrees,  or  more, 
below  zero. 

Buffalo  are  sometimes  stalked,  but  more  usually  ridden 
down  by  mere  speed  of  horses  without  the  aid  of  hounds, 
and  shot  in  full  career  with  carbine  or  rifle,  by  the  hunter 
galloping  side  by  side  with  them.  The  horsemanship  is 
the  great  art  to  be  attained,  and  skill  is  needful  both  to 
gallop  at  speed  safely  over  the  broken  and  interrupted 
surface  of  the  wild  plains,  and  to  sit  firmly  and  securely, 
when  the  horse  swerves  or  sheers  off,  as  he  is  taught  to  do, 
the  instant  the  shot  is  fired,  to  avoid  the  sudden  charge  of 
the  infuriate  beast. 

The  best  place  at  which  to  fire  in  any  large  animal  in 
motion,  is  immediately  behind  the  bend  of  the  shoulder, 
where  the  fore-arm  is  articulated  with  the  shoulder-blade, 
at  about  two  thirds  the  distance  from  the  withers,  measured 
downward  to  the  elbow.  If  the  ball,  or  charge  of  buck- 


THE    FOREST    AND   THE   PLAINS.  do  < 

shot  be  lodged  here,  it  will  infallibly  strike  the  heart. 
The  head  should  never  be  aimed  at  unless  in  a  standing 
shot,  by  a  certain  and  steady  marksman  with  a  ball  in  hia 
gun. 

For  large  game  shooting,  the  rifle  should  not  carry  a 
smaller  ball  than  32,  and  I  greatly  prefer  16  to  the  Ib.  A 
deer  which  will  carry  off  a  bullet  of  60  or  less  to  the 
pound,  apparently  unharmed,  and  die  of  it  in  a  week  after- 
ward in  misery,  and  unprofitably  in  the  lonely  wilderness, 
will  either  fall  to  the  shot  with  broken  bones,  or  bleed 
to  death  in  a  few  leaps,  more  or  less,  from  the  large  wound 
inflicted  by  an  ounce  ball. 

For  buffalo  hunting  on  horseback,  the  new  breech-load- 
ing carbine,  described  at  page  121,  is  the  implement  of  all 
others,  for  ease  of  loading,  quickness  of  firing,  and  the 
tremendous  penetration  of  its  large  acorn-shaped  ball. 

All  sporting  rifles  should  be  fitted  with  fowling-piece 
stocks,  and  back-sights  moderately  open  at  the  top,  for 
catching  rapid  aim  in  snap  shots,  though  at  the  bottom 
they  should  be  filed  into  mere  hair-line  clefts,  for  the 
purpose  of  drawing  a  fine  bead,  when  desirable. 

Remember,  after  firing,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is 
always  to  reload.  No  practice  is  so  bad  as  to  go  up  to  a 
beast,  when  it  has  fallen,  with  an  unloaded  weapon.  If 
the  animal  be  of  a  dangerous  nature,  it  is  doubly  perilous 
so  to  approach  him,  even  if  he  appear  to  be  dead.  The 
first  infliction  of  a  wound  often  produces  a  stunning  sensa- 
tion, and  a  sort  of  stupefaction,  which  passes  away  on  the 
fear  or  rage  produced  by  the  sudden  advance  of  an  enemy. 
I  have  more  than  once  seen  deer  spring  up,  go  away,  as  if 


358  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

unhurt,  and  effect  their  ultimate  escape,  in  this  manner, 
after  lying  for  some  seconds  as  if  killed  outright ;  and  the 
stories  of  accidents  incurred  from  wounded  carnivora 
through  the  like  want  of  caution  are  innumerable. 

Turkey  shooting,  which  alone  remains,  can,  I  must 
maintain  it,  in  spite  of  the  prejudices  of  my  western 
friends,  hardly  ever  be  had  under  circumstances  which 
constitute  it  a  sport ;  for  the  bird  will  rarely  either  lie  to 
setters,  or  flush  to  spaniels  within  shot ;  and  to  lie  under 
shelter  of  a  covering  log,  and  call  it  up  by  imitating  the 
yelp  of  the  hen  bird,  and  then  shoot  it  with  a  rifle,  is,  for 
the  reasons  I  have  given  above,  though  an  effective  way 
of  procuring  an  admirable  species  of  game,  no  genuine 
sport. 

I  have  heard  of  this  bird  being  hunted  with  beagles 
by  sportsmen  mounted  on  slow,  active  ponies,  through  the 
fine  open  forests  of  Canada  East,  where  the  ground  is  un- 
encumbered with  brushwood  and  coppice,  and  where  the 
giant  trees  stand  so  wide  apart  that  one  might  manoeuvre 
a  regiment  of  cavalry  among  them  ;  and  by  this  means,  it 
is  said,  they  are  forced  to  take  wing,  and  afford  fair  flying 
shots  to  their  pursuers,  or  are  driven  to  tree  after  a  short 
and  exciting  gallop,  when  they  can  either  be  shot  sitting 
on  the  branches,  or  driven  out  to  the  gun,  accordingly  as 
the  sportsman  inclines  to  fill  his  bag  at  all  hazards,  or  to 
give  the  game  a  chance  for  its  life. 

In  my  belief,  it  is  not  in  sportsmanship,  as  it  is  said  to 
be  in  love  and  war,  where  all  that  wins  is  reputed  fair. 
It  is  not  in  the  mere  killing  of  numbers,  much  less  in  the 
mere  killing  at  all ;  it  is  not  in  the  value  of  the  things 


THE    FOKEST    AND    THE    PLAINS. 


359 


killed,  though  it  is  not  sportsmanship,  but  butchery  and 
wanton  cruelty,  to  kill  animals  which  are  valueless  and  out 
of  season ;  it  is  not  in  the  inevitable  certainty  of  success — 
for  certainty  destroys  the  excitement,  which  is  the  soul  of 
sport — but  it  is  in  the  vigor,  science,  and  manhood  displayed 
— in  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome,  in  the  pleasurable  anx- 
iety for  success,  and  the  uncertainty  of  it,  and  lastly  in  the 
true  spirit,  the  style,  the  dash,  the  handsome  way  of  doing 
what  is  to  be  done,  and,  above  all,  in  the  unalterable  love 
of  fair  play,  that  first  thought  of  the  genuine  sportsman, 
that  true  sportsmanship  consists. 

And  that  it  never  may  be  degraded  into  aught  else,  is 
the  ardent  wish,  as  it  shall  ever  be  the  teaching,  of  Frank 
Forester. 


GAME    FISH, 


THE  BEST  MODES  OF  FISHING  THEM. 


f  0:tmg  Sprtsm 


KIYEK  FISH  AKD  FISHIXG. 

OF  the  following  pages,  which  will,  I  think,  be  found  to 
contain  all  that  is  needful,  both  in  theory  and  practice  for 
the  instruction  of  the  young  angler,  much  of  that  which 
relates  to  tackle,  implements,  the  most  approved  baits 
and  the  precepts  for  their  use, — most,  indeed,  which  is  not 
connected  entirely  with  the  varieties  of  fish  peculiar  to 
this  continent, — is  selected  from  that  excellent  and  most 
practical  little  work,  Stonehenge's  Manual  of  British  Rural 
Sports.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  using  these  extracts,  since 
although  the  trout,  the  pickerel,  the  perch,  and  indeed 
all  the  fish  of  America,  with  the  exception  of  the  carp,  which 
is  a  direct  importation,  difier  from  the  similar  and  similarly 
named  fish  of  Europe,  still  the  method  of  taking  them  is 


364  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

identical.  Trolling  is  trolling,  and  fly-fishing  fly-fishing  the 
world  over ;  nor  have  I  ever  any  where  else  met  instructions 
for  both,  so  practical,  so  plain,  and  so  replete  with  all  that 
can  be  taught  by  precept,  and  may  be  matured  by  experi- 
ence into  perfect  science,  as  in  extracts  which  I  here  sub- 
mit, partially  altered,  it  is  true,  and  adapted,  where  altera- 
tion and  adaptation  were  necessary,  to  the  state  of  the  art 
piscatorial  in  America,  but  still  in  the  main  attributable 
to  the  clever  writer  and  compiler,  whose  nom  de  plume  is 
so  well  known  as  an  authority  on  English  sporting  mat- 
ters. 

The  brief  description  of  the  leading  American  fishes, 
which  are  of  interest  to  the  angler,  are  arranged  according 
to  the  best  authorities,  and  the  instructions  for  such  modes 
of  angling  as  are  peculiar  to  our  waters  are  original,  aud 
will,  I  hope,  be  found  useful  and  authentic. 

It  will  be  observed  that  I  have  not,  in  this  volume, 
entered  largely  into  ichthyological  questions,  or  discussions 
concerning  the  natural  history  and  breeding  of  fish,  which 
subjects  will  be  found  treated  at  large  in  my  work  on  the 
fish  and  fishing  of  the  United  States  and  British  Prov- 
inces of  North  America,  and  in  other  books  devoted 
wholly  to  the  topics  of  natural  history,  and  the  fauna  of 
the  continent.  The  paper  on  trolling  for  lake  trout, 
which  is  quoted  from  the  pages  of  my  work  above  referred 
to,  is  from  the  pen  of  an  excellent  fisherman,  who  is  much 
accustomed  to  the  sport  and  the  waters  which  he  describes, 
and  who  kindly  prepared  it  for  the  Appendix  to  the  second 
edition  of  my  volume, 


KIVEK   FISH   AND   FISHING.  365 


The  COMMON  SALMON,  Salmo  Salar,  stands  at  the  head 
of  American  fish,  as  affording  the  best  sport  to  the  angler, 
and  the  greatest  treat  to  the  gourmand ;  its  flesh  being 
rich  in  flavor,  and  of  a  beautiful  red  color.  It  is  a  fish 
of  large  size,  sometimes  attaining  to  the  weight  of  50  or 
even  60  pounds,  and  of  beautiful  proportions.  The  head 
is  small ;  upper  jaw  longer  than  the  lower ;  vomer  fur- 
nished with  teeth ;  body  slightly  arched  on  the  back, 
which  ought  to  be  broad  and  muscular,  and  gradually 
tapering  to  the  tail,  which  is  broad,  and  ends  in  a  crescen- 
tic  curve.  The  color  of  the  salmon  when  in  season,  is  a 
purplish-black  on  the  back,  softening  into  a  silvery-gray 
on  the  sides,  and  ending  in  a  pure  white  on  the  belly. 
When  out  of  season,  these  colors  are  represented  by  a 
dull  brown  on  the  back,  reddish  or  pale-brown  on  the 
sides,  and  reddish-white  on  the  belly.  The  male  has 
several  small,  irregular,  and  copper-colored  spots  on  his 
sides.  These  in  the  female  are  larger,  darker,  and  gener- 
ally round  or  lunated.  The  male  is  also  more  slender. 
The  scales  are  middle-sized,  and  are  easily  detached.  The 


366  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

average  length  is  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  feet. 
Salmon  feed  freely  on  fish  and  mollusca,  but  digest  their 
food  so  rapidly,  that  when  opened  their  stomachs  are  gen- 
erally found  empty.  Their  growth  is  proportionate  to  the 
quantity  of  food  which  they  can  procure ;  and  hence  when 
they  reach  the  sea  they  increase  in  size  in  a  marvellous 
manner,  during  a  very  short  period.  The  successive 
stages  of  development  of  this  fish  are  now  supposed  to  be 
as  follows  : — the  fry  are  hatched  chiefly  in  the  spring  and 
early  summer,  and  grow  very  slowly  till  they  are  about  a 
year  old,  up  to  which  time  they  are  called  salmon  fry, 
and  have  several  transverse  bars  on  their  sides.  When 
these  disappear,  and  the  fish  becomes  uniformly  silvery  in 
color,  it  is  about  to  commence  its  first  migration  to  the 
sea,  and  is  called  a  smolt.  After  the  smolt  has  re- 
mained in  the  sea  a  few  months,  it  returns  to  its  native 
river,  if  possible,  and  is  then  greatly  increased  in  size, 
generally  weighing  two  or  three  pounds,  or  even  consider- 
ably more.  They  are  now  called  grilse;  and  after  a 
second  time  descending  to  the  sea,  where  they  again 
rapidly  add  to  their  size  and  weight,  they  attain  the  full 
dignity  and  name  of  salmon.  The  female  salmon  deposits 
her  ova  in  the  gravelly  beds  of  mountain  streams,  where 
she  ploughs  a  groove  with  her  tail,  and  is  assisted  by 
the  male  in  the  whole  operation.  The  size  of  the  salmon 
does  not  entirely  depend  upon  the  age,  but  on  the  nature 
of  the  river  in  which  it  is  bred ;  some  rivers  never  pro- 
duce large  salmon,  whilst  others  are  remarkable  for  fish 
of  great  size.  The  salmon  was  originally  found  in  all 
North  American  rivers  eastward  of  the  Delaware.  It 


KIVER    FISH    AND    FISHING.  367 

now  hardly  exists  west  of  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot, 
and  even  there  is  becoming  yearly  more  scarce.  In  the 
British  Provinces,  and  in  California  and  Oregon,  it  still 
abounds. 

SEA  TKOTJT,  Salmo  Trutta. — According  to  Mr.  Yar- 
rel,  this  fish  is  distinguished  from  the  common  salmon  by 
the  gill-cover,  which  differs  in  the  following  points  : — The 
line  of  union  of  the  operculum  with  the  sub-operculum  and 
the  inferior  margin  of  the  sub-operculum,  is  oblique,  forming 
a  considerable  angle  with  the  axis  of  the  body  of  the  first. 
The  posterior  edge  of  the  pre-operculum  is  rounded,  not 
sinuous.  The  teeth  are  also  more  slender  and  numerous. 
The  flesh  of  this  fish  is  very  similar  in  flavor  and  color 
to  that  of  the  common  salmon,  with  which  it  is  very  gen- 
erally confounded ;  and  the  two  are  sold  indiscriminately 
by  the  fishmongers  as  ordinary  salmon.  In  habits,  haunts, 
&c.,  they  are  also  alike.  It  is  common  in  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  the  rivers  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick. 

THE  COMMON  TROUT,  Salmo  Fontinalis,  is  distinguished 
by  the  length  of  the  lower  jaw  being  greater  than  that  of 
the  upper.  It  weighs  from  half  a  pound  to  four  or  five,  or 
even,  in  rare  cases,  up  to  eight  pounds ;  and  its  ordinary 
length  is  from  10  to  18  or  20  inches.  In  shape  it  is  not 
quite  so  elegant  as  the  salmon,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  a 
very  beautiful  fish.  The  snout  is  more  blunt,  and  the 
jaws  are  thickly  supplied  with  teeth  inclining  inwards,  and 
very  sharp.  In  color  it  is  dark  brown,  mottled  with  yel- 
low on  the  back,  pink  on  the  sides,  in  season,  and  silver- 
white  below.  It  is  marked  on  the  sides  with  several  dis- 
tinct round  spots  of  a  bright  red  color,  each  surrounded 


368  MANUAL  FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

by  a  halo  of  pale  gray  ;  its  fins  are  tricolored,  bright  red, 
bordered  with  black ;  and  an  anterior  margin  of  pure  white. 
Trout  vary  so  much  in  different  rivers,  that  no  one  descrip- 
tion will  minutely  apply  to  all,  but  the  above  will  give  the 
general  characteristics  of  the  species.  The  trout  feeds 
like  the  salmon,  and  in  habits  resembles  that  fish  in  all 
respects  but  the  migration  to  the  sea.  He  is  generally 
found  in  swift  and  gravelly  streams,  and  rejects  those  of 
an  opposite  character,  though  he  is  occasionally  to  be  met 
with  there  in  consequence  of  the  artificial  and  compulsory 
interference  of  man.  The  spawn  is  deposited  in  the  same 
way  as  that  of  the  salmon;  but  as  the  young  do  not 
migrate,  their  successive  changes  and  growth  cannot  be  so 
clearly  made  out.  The  spawning  time  begins  in  Septem- 
ber, in  some  few  cases,  but  it  is  not  commonly  in  full 
operation  till  October  or  November,  after  which  it  may  be 
said  to  be  completed.  The  trout  is  in  full  season  from 
March  to  July,  but  the  time  varies  in  different  rivers  so 
much,  that  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  decided  rule. 
When  in  high  perfection  its  spots  are  peculiarly  brilliant 
and  distinct ;  the  head  is  small,  the  body  being  plump 
and  thick,  and  the  belly  silvery.  Of  LAKE  TROUT  there 
are  several  species,  the  great  lake  trout  of  Superior  and 
Huron,  Salmo  Amethystus  ;  the  Siskawit,  and  the  com- 
mon lake  trout,  Salmo  confinis,  besides  other,  perhaps 
casual  varieties. 

The  MASCALONGE  and  PICKEREL. — Of  these  voracious 
fish  there  are  many  varieties,  in  almost  all  the  lakes  and 
rivers  of  North  America.  The  former  species  is  confined 
to  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence ;  the  latter  is  common 


RIVER   FISH   AND   FISHING.  369 

to  all  the  lakes  and  fresh  rivers  of  the  Eastern,  Middle, 
and  North-western  States.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the 
English  pike,  and  is  a  very  ugly-looking  fish,  the  head 
being  large,  the  jaws  long  and  savage-looking,  and  armed 
with  several  hundred  teeth ;  the  tail  is  lunated  ;  the  color 
is  a  pale  olive-gray,  becoming  deeper  on  the  back,  and 
marked  on  the  sides  with  several  yellowish  spots  or 
patches.  Sometimes  the  pickerel  reaches  an  enormous  size, 
instances  having  been  known  in  which  it  was  taken  more 
than  three  feet  in  length.  The  food  of  the  pickerel  con- 
sists of  fish,  frogs,  rats,  the  young  of  water-fowl,  or,  in 
fact,  any  thing  in  the  shape  of  animal  food.  They  spawn 
in  March  and  April,  among  the  weeds  of  their  favorite 
haunts. 

The  CHUB,  ROACH  and  DACE  are  common  in  all  Amer- 
ican streams,  but  are  little  fished  for  except  by  boys,  and 
are  worthless  on  the  table. 

The  COMMON  CARP,  Cyprinus  Carpio,  is  the  type  of 
a  family  which  have  all  a  small  mouth  without  teeth,  but 
possessing  a  bony  apparatus  in  the  throat  as  a  substitute. 
They  have  only  one  dorsal  fin.  The  common  carp  is  not 
a  native  of  Great  Britain,  but  was  introduced  by  the 
monks  to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  table  during  their 
fasts.  In  length  it  is  usually  from  one  foot  to  one  foot 
six  inches.  The  back  is  arched  and  thick;  color  yellow- 
ish, approaching  to  brown  over  the  back,  and  to  white 
under  the  belly.  The  mouth  has  a  short  beard  on  each 
side,  both  above  and  below  ;  on  the  sides  are  some  black- 
ish specks ;  fins,  brown  ;  tail,  brown,  and  forked.  Carp 
feed  on  worms  and  insects,  and  are  very  prolific,  living 
16* 


370  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

also  to  a  great  age.  They  are  a  very  wary  and  cautious 
fish,  and  very  uncertain  in  appetite,  being  sometimes  ready 
to  take  a  bait,  and  at  others  obstinately  refusing  every 
temptation.  The  carp  is  now  common  in  the  Hudson, 
having  escaped  from  the  store  ponds  of  Captain  Robinson, 
who  imported  it  from  Holland,  and  having  been  protected 
by  law  until  it  became  abundant. 

THE  BASS. — Of  this  fine  family  there  are  four  species 
peculiar  to  the  waters  of  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  sea  bays 
of  North  America,  besides  a  purely  salt-water  species  taken 
on  the  outer  sea-banks,  known  as  the  sea  bass,  Centro- 
pristes  Nigricans.  These  three  are  the  striped  bass, 
Labrax  lineatus,  a  noble  migratory  fish,  varying  according 
to  age  and  condition  from  half  a  pound  to  seventy  pounds 
weight,  and  frequenting  all  the  waters  of  the  Middle  and 
Eastern  States,  from  those  of  the  Chesapeake  to  Boston 
Bay.  He  runs  up  the  fresh  rivers  from  the  sea  in  pursuit 
of  the  shoals  of  shad  and  smelt,  on  the  roe  of  which  he 
feeds  greedily,  and  frequents  the  fresh  waters  until  late  in. 
the  autumn,  when  he  retires  to  the  sea  bays  and  inlets, 
where  he  remains  imbedded  in  the  mud  of  those  calm  and 
brackish  lagoons  until  the  return  of  warm  weather. 

He  is  a  handsome,  active  fish,  bluish  brown  above--  and 
silvery  white  on  the  sides  and  belly,  marked  with  seven  or 
nine  longitudinal  stripes  of  chocolate  brown,  those  above 
the  medial  line  terminating  at  the  tail,  those  below  it 
fading  away  and  disappearing  above  the  anal  fin.  Like 
the  perch  he  has  two  dorsal  fins,  the  anterior  one  having 
nine  sharp-pointed  spirous  rays.  He  is  a  gallant  fish  and 
bold  biter. 


RIVER   FISH   AND    FISHING.  371 

The  two  next  species,  the  BLACK  BASS  of  the  Lakes, 
Gristes  Nigricans,  and  the  ROCK  BASS,  centrarchus  ceneus, 
are  originally  peculiar  to  the  basin  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
though  they  have  been  purposely  introduced  into  many 
other  waters,  and  have  introduced  themselves,  via  the 
canals,  into  the  Hudson  and  other  rivers  connected  with 
those  great  Canadian  waters. 

The  black  bass  is  taken  from  half  a  pound  to  eight  or 
nine  pounds  weight,  though  its  ordinary  run  does  not 
exceed,  if  it  reaches,  three  or  four  pounds.  It  has  a 
double  dorsal,  like  the  preceding  species,  the  former  with 
nine  sharp  spines,  the  latter  with  one  spine  and  fourteen 
soft  rays.  It  is  of  a  bluish  black  color  above  with  bronzed 
reflections,  and  below  of  a  bluish  white.  It  loves  clear 
cold  limpid  lakes  and  swift  rivers  ;  it  is  a  delicious  fish  and 
a  bold  biter.  It  abounds  in  Seneca,  Cayuga,  and  Crooked 
Lakes  of  New  York,  and  in  all  the  great  northern  lakes, 
though  it  is  not  found  to  the  north  of  these. 

The  ROCK  BASS,  centrarchus  ceneus,  peculiar  to  the 
same  waters,  is  a  smaller  fish,  rarely  exceeding  a  pound  or 
a  pound  and  a  half  weight. 

Its  color  is  dark  coppery  bronze  above,  with  green 
metallic  reflections,  the  sides  coppery  golden,  with  several 
rows  of  dark  oblong  spots. 

Its  dorsal  fin  has  eleven  spines  and  twelve  soft  rays. 
It  is  abundant  in  the  lakes,  in  the  Hudson  river,  and 
in  many  adjoining  lakes  and  rivers  into  which  he  has  been 
casually  or  intentionally  introduced. 

The  GROWLER,  Gristes  Salmoneids. — This  fish  consid- 
erably resembles  the  black  bass,  and  arrives  at  nearly  the 


372  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

same  size.  It  is  of  a  deep  greenish  brown  color,  and  has 
ten  spines  in  the  first  dorsal  and  fourteen  rays  in  the  sec- 
ond dorsal  fin.  This  fish  is  known  as  the  salmon  in  the 
Susquehanna,  which  river  is  not  visited  by  the  true  salmon, 
as  the  white  salmon  in  Virginia,  and  as  the  Welchman  in 
the  inland  waters  of  North  Carolina.  It  has  been  taken 
in  the  waters  of  Western  New  York,  though  not  frequent 
in  them,  but  abounds  in  many  of  the  Western  States. 

The  PIKE  PERCH  or  Sandre,  Lucioperca  Americana, 
deserves  mention  as  an  admirable  fish  on  the  table,  and  a 
favorite  with  the  angler,  both  for  its  beauty,  strength,  and 
boldness  of  biting.  It  is  a  true  perch,  and  has  nothing 
of  the  pike  but  its  elongated  snout,  whence  it  derives  its 
name.  It  has  thirteen  spines  in  the  first  dorsal,  and  one 
spine  and  twenty-one  soft  rays  in  the  second.  Its  general 
color  is  yellow,  beautifully  mottled  with  purplish  brown, 
zigzag  lines  above,  and  pure  silver  below.  It  rises  to 
nine  pounds  weight,  is  a  fish  of  the  western  waters,  lov- 
ing quiet  pools  under  mill-dams  or  at  the  foot  of  rapids, 
and  retires  in  the  summer  into  the  depths  of  the  clear  cold 
lakes,  or  quiet  shadowy  places  in  rivers,  amid  water  grasses 
and  weeds. 

There  are  many  other  varieties  of  fish,  of  greater  or 
less  value  to  the  angler,  found  in  all  the  waters  of  the  con- 
tinent, from  the  abominable  and  gigantic  catfish  down  to 
the  diminutive  breams,  shiners  and  killy  fish,  which  afford 
so  much  sport  to  boy  fishermen,  but  with  the  exception-  of 
the  perch  and  eel,  there  are  none  others  which  require 
especial  notice. 

The  PERCH,  Perca  Americana,  is  a  very  handsome 


RIVER   FISH   AND   FISHING.  373 

fish  of  medium  size.  Body  deep,  with  high-arched  back ; 
head  small,  with  sharp  teeth  in  the  jaws  and  the  roof  of 
the  mouth.  The  edges  of  the  gill-covers  are  serrated,  with 
a  spine  on  the  lower  part.  Colors  as  follows  : — Back, 
deep  olive-green,  with  broad  black  bars,  gradually  becom- 
ing white  towards  the  belly.  It  has,  however,  many  varie- 
ties and  shades  of  color,  sometimes  being  found,  especially 
in  the  large  clear  spring  lakes  of  the  inland  country,  of  a 
rich  golden  yellow,  barred  with  dusky  bands.  There  is  a 


small  variety  known  as  the  "  suufish,"  or  "  pumkin  seed," 
mottled  with  various  colors,  and  a  great  favorite  with  boy 
anglers.  The  dorsal  fin  is  furnished  with  spinous  pro- 
longations, so  sharp  that  it  can  scarcely  be  handled  with 
impunity  by  the  angler.  It  thrives  best  in  large  tidal 
rivers,  where  it  seeks  the  point  at  which  the  water  is  usu- 
ally brackish,  and  grows  there  to  an  extent  never  seen 
elsewhere.  It  is  a  slow-growing  fish,  requiring  many  years 
to  arrive  at  its  full  size.  The  perch  spawns  in  the, 
months  of  March  and  April.  It  is  a  gregarious  fish,  and1 
is  very  tenacious  of  life. 


374:  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

THE  EEL,  Anguilla  communis. — Of  this  fish  there 
are  several  varieties,  but  they  differ  so  little  as  to  require 
no  particular  mention.  They  do  not  exist  above  the  Falls 
of  Niagara,  which  they  cannot  ascend,  being  migratory  fish 
descending  to  the  sea,  where  they  grow  to  a  vast  size,  and 
ascending  annually  to  spring  waters.  In  length  they  are 
from  1  to  3  feet;  color,  on  the  back  sometimes  a  dark  olive 
brown,  at  others  light  brown ;  belly,  always  white  and  sil- 
very, especially  in  the  silver  eel,  a  variety  peculiar  to  some 
rivers.  Head  flat,  and  jaws  more  or  less  oblongated,  but 
the  lower  jaw  always  the  longer ;  eyes  very  near  the 
mouth,  and  small,  with  a  reddish  iris ;  gill-opening  set 
far  back,  and  close  to  the  temporal  fin.  The  eel  is  now 
ascertained  to  spawn  in  the  sea,  for  which  purpose  it  de- 
scends from  its  usual  haunts  and  visits  the  ocean.  It  has 
the  power  of  overcoming  all  obstacles,  because  it  can  leave 
the  water,  and  by  its  serpent-like  form,  travel  over  or 
round  any  flood-gate,  or  mill-dam,  in  its  course,  whether 
up  or  down  stream.  It  generally  chooses  dark  stormy 
nights  for  this  purpose ;  and  its  migration  downward  takes 
place  in  the  months  of  August,  September,  and  October, 
during  which  time  eels  are  taken  in  large  numbers  by  the 
millers  throughout  the  country,  who  set  their  pots  at  'the 
chief  water-courses.  Eels  are  generally  considered  to  be 
viviparous,  but  they  seem,  like  many  other  animals,  some- 
times to  produce  their  ova  already  hatched,  and  at  others 
to  eject  them  with  their  contents  still  in  an  embryo  state. 
The  young  first  appear  on  the  coasts  in  March  and  April, 
and  are  then  seen  in  enormous  quantities.  They  soon 
ascend  the  rivers,  and  by  various  devices  they  surmount 


EIVEK   FISH   AND   FISHING.  375 

the  flood-gates,  &c.,  which  impede  the  progress  of  other  fish; 
sometimes  the  English  millers  put  straw  ropes  for  this 
purpose,  up  which  the  young  eels  swarm  in  myriads.  While 
ascending  the  larger  rivers  they  may  be  seen  in  a  double 
column,  one  close  to  each  bank,  swimming  with  great 
power  and  speed.  These  young  eels  are  from  half  an  inch 
to  an  inch  in  length.  The  eel  is  a  very  voracious  fish, 
and  will  feed  upon  all  kinds  of  garbage,  and  upon  small 
fish,  frogs,  rats,  &c ;  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  great  scav- 
enger of  our  rivers.  Eels  feed  chiefly  by  night,  and  they 
lie  chiefly  by  day  in  the  deep  pools  of  rivers,  or  under 
stones  or  stumps  of  trees,  or  among  the  weeds  or  other 
impediments  to  the  current  of  water,  which  they  seem  in 
all  cases  to  dislike. 


THE   LINE,   REEL,   AND   HOOK. 

This,  which  is  the  essential  part  of  all  fishing-tackle, 
consists  of  a  reel-line,  varying  in  length,  strength,  and 
size,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  fish  which  is  sought 
after;  of  a  reel  to  wind  this  upon,  also  varying  in  accord- 
ance with  the  line ;  and  of  a  smaller  and  finer  foot-length 


376  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

attached  to  the  line,  which  is  usually  composed  of  silk- 
worm gut,  hair  or  gimp,  and  is  armed  with  one  or  more 
hooks,  variously  baited. 

Reel-lines  are  made  of  horse-hair,  from  the  tail,  of 
silk,  or  silk  and  hair  mixed,  of  Indian-weed,  and  of  silk- 
worm gut.  It  is  usual  for  the  amateur  fisherman  to  pur- 
chase these  lines,  which  are  made  by  a  small  machine,  but 
sometimes  the  angler  prefers  making  them  himself,  and 
if  at  all  handy,  he  may  do  this  with  great  advantage  by 
an  easily  acquired  method,  which  is  much  superior  to  the 
twisting-machine,  because  it  admits  of  the  introduction  of 
fresh  hair  with  much  greater  facility. 

Silk  and  hair-mixed  lines  are  those  usually  sold, 
and  they  are  the  best  for  general  purposes,  because  they 
wind  so  well  on  the  reel,  and  are  strong  and  durable. 
They  are  made  of  all  lengths,  and  may  be  purchased  at 
any  of  the  tackle-makers.  Indian-weed  or  grass  lines 
are  also  sometimes  used,  but  they  do  not  stand  sudden 
jars,  being  inclined  to  snap.  A  plaited  silk  line  is 
now  made  without  hair,  and  is  very  generally  adopted. 
It  is  much  more  free  from  kinking  or  ravelling  than  the 
other  lines. 

The  reel  is  generally  used  by  the  angler,  partly '  for 
the  convenience  of  carrying  the  line  safely,  but  chiefly  in 
order  to  allow  of  rapid  extension  or  drawing  in  of  the  line 
which  is  wound  upon  it.  Multiplying-reels,  in  which,  by 
the  introduction  of  machinery,  the  barrel  is  made  to  trayel 
several  times  to  the  single  revolution  of  the  handle,  were 
formerly  much  used,  but  they  are  now  in  great  measure 
replaced  by  the  more  simple  plan  of  having  a  large  barrel 


EIVEK   FISH    AND   FISHING.  377 

or  drum  on  which  to  wind  the  line,  instead  of  a  small  cen- 
tral spindle.  By  the  use  of  this  large  drum  even  a  salmon 
line  may  be  taken  in  as  rapidly  as  can  be  desired,  and  the 
line  lies  much  more  evenly  and  free  from  any  kind  of 
hitch,  with  the  great  advantage  that  it  will  give  off  the 
line  readily  to  the  end. 

The  foot-length,  or  the  extreme  portion  of  the  line, 
is  composed  of  finer  materials  than  the  reel-line,  in  order 
to  escape  the  eye  of  the  fish.  It  is  generally  made  of 
pieces  of  gut,  knotted  together,  and  altogether  comprising 
a  length  of  from  three  to  eight  feet.  Sometimes  it  is  of 
single  gut  throughout,  but  generally  of  two  or  three  thick- 
nesses of  twisted  gut  at  the  end  next  the  line,  then  of  two, 
and  finally  of  one  piece  of  gut.  This  material  is  the  pro- 
duce of  the  silkworm,  and  is  the  unspun  substance  intend- 
ed for  silk,  but  made  into  gut  instead  by  the  art  of  man. 
The  silkworm,  just  before  spinning,  is  broken  in  two  by 
the  hand  of  the  gut-maker,  who,  by  drawing  the  pieces 
apart,  obtains  gut  of  any  firmness,  according  to  the  length 
to  which  he  pulls  it.  Considerable  knack  is  required  to 
make  it  uniformly  round  and  free  from  weak  places,  which 
should  be  searched  for  carefully  in  selecting  gut  for  the 
single  lengths.  Horse-hair  is  sometimes  used  for  this 
purpose,  and  in  some  instances  gimp,  consisting  of  silk 
protected  by  wire.  All  these  various  sorts  will  be  treated 
of  under  the  respective  kinds  of  fishing  in  which  they  are 
employed. 

Hooks  are  pieces  of  bent  steel  wire,  barbed  at  the 
point,  and  of  various  sizes  and  forms.  They  are  made 
according  to  the  respective  patterns  which  are  fancied  by 


378  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

the  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish  makers.  The  round  bend 
hook,  is  that  which  is  most  used  in  England,  the  Limerick 
pattern  being  chiefly  in  vogue  in  Ireland,  and  the  Scotch 
anglers  using,  some  of  them  the  former  and  others  the  lat- 
ter :  while  many  Scotchmen  use  what  is  called  the  sneck- 
bend,  differing  slightly  from  both  of  the  above,  in  being 
made  of  a  more  square  shape.  The  round  bend  hook  is 
numbered  from  1,  the  largest  salmon  size,  to  14,  the  small- 
est midge.  The  best  Irish  hooks,  made  by  Philips  of 
Dublin,  are  classed  in  a  different  way  :  F  E  is  intended 
for  the  smallest  trouting-fly ;  F,  the  next ;  then  F  F  ;  then, 
again,  F  F  F.  After  this  come  C  and  C  C  ;  then  B  and 
B  B.  The  C's  and  B's  have  intermediate  or  half-num- 
bers, and  above  B  B  the  hooks  for  salmon  are  known  by 
numbers,  beginning  with  B  B,  which  corresponds  with  9, 
and  going  on  regularly  up  to  No.  1. 

Various  articles  are  required  for  uniting  these  portions 
of  the  line — viz.,  silk  of  different  degrees  of  strength,  cob- 
bler's wax,  spirit  varnish,  and  small  scissors,  &c. 

The  joints  used  are — first,  whipping  ;  second,  knot- 
ting. Whipping  consists  in  drawing  successive  circles  of 
silk,  well  waxed,  tightly  around  the  two  objects  laid  in 
apposition ;  as,  for  instance,  two  portions  of  the  line,  or  the 
line  and  hook.  This  is  finished  off  by  slipping  the  end  of 
the  silk  through  the  last  circle  and  drawing  tight,  and,  if 
necessary,  repeating  the  operation  again  and  again ;  this  is 
called  the  half-hitch.  Knotting  is  effected  by  several 
modes,  the  most  common  of  which  is  the  water-knot,  which 
is  managed  as  follows  : — Lay  the  two  pieces  of  gut  or  hair 
together,  one  overlapping  the  other  three  inches  or  more, 


KIVEB    FISH    AND   FISHING.  379 

then  hold  one  end  in  the  left  hand  and  form  a  simple  slip- 
knot upon  it,  turn  the  other  end  to  the  right  and  do  the 
same  thing,  then  draw  the  two  together,  and  the  knot  is 
complete ;  by  whipping  with  fine  waxed  silk  this  knot  is 
made  still  more  firm.  The  advantage  of  this  knot  is  that 
it  will  never  give  way  to  a  direct  pull,  and  yet  may  always 
be  undone  without  difficulty. 

The  accessories  to  the  line  are  the  float,  and  the 
shot  or  leads.  These  are  used  in  bottom-fishing  only, 
and  are  intended  to  keep  the  hook  at  a  certain  distance 
from  the  bottom.  The  float  is  either  of  quill  or  cork,  and 
is  fixed  upon  the  line  by  a  ring  at  one  end  and  a  sliding- 
quill  at  the  other.  The  shot  are  partially  split  and  then 
brought  together  again  upon  the  line.  In  this  way,  by 
plumbing  the  depth  of  the  water,  and  adjusting  the  float 
so  as  to  keep  the  bait  at  a  certain  depth,  the  object  of  the 
bottom-fisher  is  attained. 

Box-swivels  and  hook-swivels  may  be  readily  un- 
derstood from  their  name,  and  are  used  in  spinning  tackle, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  line  from  twisting. 

Gimp  is  composed  of  silk  or  other  material  strong 
enough  to  resist  any  straining  force  applied  to  it,  and  pro- 
tected from  the  teeth  of  the  fish,  or  from  sharp  stones,  by 
fine  brass  wire  neatly  wound  round.  It  is  made  of  va- 
rious sizes  and  strength. 

THE  ROD. 

The  rod  is  the  machine  with  which  the  line  is  con- 
veyed to  the  place  where  the  fish  is  the  most  likely  to  take 


380  MANUAL   FOB  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

it,  and  with  which  the  various  manoeuvres  prior  to  his 
capture  are  effected.  It  is  made  of  several  pieces  united 
by  joints,  and  these  are  of  varying  size,  length,  and  mate- 
rials, according  to  the  kind  of  fishing  to  which  it  is  to  be 
applied.  It  is  also  sold  to  suit  all  purposes  in  one,  by 
changing  the  top  joints,  and  it  is  then  called  a  general 
rod ;  but  though  this  may  suit  the  pedestrian  tourist  who 
wishes  to  avoid  carrying  more  than  one  rod,  yet  it  inter- 
feres a  good  deal  with  the  efficiency  of  both,  and  especially 
does  it  fail  as  a  fly-rod.  It  is,  however,  well  enough  suit- 
ed to  the  beginner.  The  extra  pieces  are  contained  in 
the  butt,  which  is  hollowed  out  to  receive  them.  The 
specific  varieties  of  rods  will  come  under  consideration  in 
each  section  devoted  to  the  particular  sport  for  which 
they  are  intended,  but  I  may  enumerate  them  here  as  the 
general  rod,  the  trolling  rod,  the  trout  fly-fishing  rod,  and 
the  salmon  fly-fishing  rod.  The  materials  of  which  these 
are  composed  are  ash,  hickory,  lancewood,  and  cane,  which 
are  united  together  by  brass  ferules.  Whalebone  is  also 
sometimes  used  in  the  top  joints  of  fly-rods,  but  these  are 
made  so  much  better  by  the  tackle-maker  than  by  the  am- 
ateur, that  it  is  useless  to  go  into  the  description  of  their 
manufacture. 

NATURAL  AND  GROUND  BAITS. 

The  earth-worm  is  the  most  primitive  and  simple  of 
all  baits,  and  is  that  which  is  generally  first  used  by  the 
juvenile  angler,  because  it  is  easily  obtained,  and  applied 
without  difficulty.  There  are  several  varieties  of  these 


RIVER   FISH   AND   FISHING.  381 

worms,  known  to  anglers  as  the  dew-worm,  lob-worm  or  the 
marsh-worm,  the  tagtail,  the  brandling,  and  the  red-worm. 

The  dew-worm,  or  large  garden  worm,  is  of  consider- 
able size,  varying  from  6  to  12  inches  in  length  when  ex- 
tended. The  tail  tapers  somewhat,  but  in  the  squirrel- 
tailed  variety  it  is  flattened.  In  color  this  worm  is  of  a 
dull  brick- red,  approaching  to  a  crimson  towards  the  head. 
These  worms  are  obtained  either  by  digging,  or  by  search- 
ing for  them  quietly  at  night  with  a  candle  and  lantern  on 
the  lawns  or  paths  of  the  garden.  In  dry  weather  they 
are  always  out  when  the  dew  is  falling. 

The  marsh-worm,  or  blue-head,  is  found  in  moist 
and  undrained  localities,  where  they  may  be  obtained  with 
a  candle  and  lantern  in  large  numbers  during  the  fine 
summer  nights.  In  color  they  are  of  a  light  dirty  or 
brownish  purple.  These  worms  should  be  kept  in  damp 
moss  with  a  little  earth  mixed  with  it.  A  variety  of  this 
worm,  found  in  land  only  partially  marshy,  is  called  in 
Scotland  the  black-head  or  button-worm,  and  is  more 
tough,  and  therefore  better  calculated  for  standing  the 
rough  treatment  which  it  must  undergo  in  swift  and  wide 
streams.  It  is  an  excellent  bait  for  trout. 

The  tagtail  is  common  in  good  strong  clays,  which 
are  well  manured  for  turnips,  mangel-wurzel,  &c.  It  is 
a  small  worm  of  about  2  or  3  inches  in  length.  Head 
larger,  and  of  a  deeper  blue  than  the  body,  which  is  a 
dingy  red  ;  tail,  yellowish. 

The  brandling  is  a  small  worm  found  in  artificial 
composts,  and  in  rotten  tan,  or  other  decaying  vegetable 
matter,  of  a  dirty  red  color,  approaching  to  brown. 


MANUAL    FOR    YOL'XO    P1'ORT?MEN. 

The  red-worm  is  about  the  same  size  as  the  brand- 
ling, which  it  resembles  in  all  respects  but  color,  that 
being  in  the  red-worm  exactly  what  its  name  implies.  It 
is  found  in  the  banks  of  ditches  and  sewers.  The  gilt-tail 
is  a  variety  of  this  worm,  but  larger,  and  of  a  paler  color 
towards  the  tail. 

All  these  worms  should  be  scoured, — a  process  which 
consists  in  starving  them,  by  placing  them  in  damp  moss, 
neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry.  The  worms  here  are  not 
only  deprived  of  their  usual  food,  but  in  their  efforts  to 
escape  they  mechanically  compress  their  bodies  between 
the  fibres  of  the  moss,  and  in  that  way  completely  empty 
themselves  of  their  faecal  contents.  Before  putting  them 
in  the  moss,  Mr.  Stoddart  recommends  that  worms  should 
be  placed  in  water  for  a  few  minutes,  after  which  they  should 
be  suffered  to  crawl  over  a  dry  board,  in  order  still  further 
to  cleanse  their  skins.  They  may  then  be  transferred  to 
the  moss,  as  described  above.  The  worms  should  be 
examined  from  day  to  day,  and  those  which  are  unhealthy 
or  injured  should  be  removed.  When  the  worms  are  quite 
sufficiently  scoured,  they  should  be  stored  for  use.  Three 
or  four  days  is  the  average  time  required  for  scouring. 

Worms  are  preserved  in  the  following  manner : — 
Procure  some  fresh  mutton  suet,  cut  it  fine,  and  boil  it  in 
a  quart  of  water  till  dissolved  ;  then  dip  in  this  two  or 
three  pieces  of  coarse  new  wrapper  large  enough  to  supply 
each  variety  of  worm,  which  should  not  be  mixed  together. 
When  these  are  cold,  put  them  into  separate  earthen  jars, 
with  some  damp  earth  and  the  worms  which  are  to  be 
kept,  and  tie  over  all  a  piece  of  open  and  coarse  muslin. 


RIVER    FISH    AND   FISHING.  383 

Shrimps  are  much  used  for  angling  in  tide  waters,  and 
are  good  baits  for  perch,  if  used  alive. 

The  cockchafer  is  a  common  bait,  but  is  not  of  much 
value  in  angling,  except  for  chub. 

Dung  beetles,  of  various  kinds,  are  also  employed, 
and  some  anglers  use  them  after  removing  their  wing-cases. 
They  should  be  placed  crosswise  on  the  hook. 

Grasshoppers  form  good  baits  for  some  fish,  and  are 
much  used  for  chub  in  particular.  They  are  met  with 
after  the  beginning  of  June  till  the  end  of  September. 
The  greener  and  larger  they  are,  the  better  they  take. 

Butterflies  and  moths  are  also  sometimes  efficient 
baits,  but  their  artificial  representations  are  more  common- 
ly used. 

The  ephemera,  or  natural  May-fly,  is  used  as  a 
bait  during  the  period  when  it  comes  forth  in  countless 
myriads.  By  baiting  with  this  fly  in  May  and  June  suc- 
cess is  often  attained,  putting  two  flies  on  the  hook  at  the 
same  time. 

Caddis-flies  are  also  used  in  the  same  way  as  the 
ephemera. 

Humble  bees,  blue-bottle  flies,  gnats,  and  ant-flies  are 
held  in  estimation  by  many  anglers,  as  well  as  the  harry- 
long-legs,  and  the  common  house-fly. 

Many  larvae  or  grubs  are  used  in  bottom-fishing, 
and  are  of  great  service  in  that  department.  Of  these 
the  principal  are — 1st,  flesh  maggots  ;  2d,  beetle  larvce; 
3d,  caddies,'  and  4th,  caterpillars. 

Flesh  maggots,  or  gentles,  are  obtained  and  scoured 
in  the  following  manner  : — Procure  any  kind  of  flesh,  or 


384  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

the  body  of  any  small  animal.  If  there  is  any  difficulty 
about  this,  the  liver  of  a  horse  or  cow  answers  remarkably 
well.  With  a  knife  cut  some  deep  gashes  in  the  substance 
of  the  liver  or  flesh,  and  hang  it  up  in  a  shady  place,  but 
near  the  haunts  of  the  blow-fly.  In  a  few  days  the  mag- 
gots will  attain  a  lively  state  of  existence;  but  they 
require  about  a  week  to  reach  their  full  development  to 
the  green  or  soft  state,  and  another  week  to  reach  their 
maturity,  when  they  are  large  and  fat,  with  black  heads. 
The  various  stages  are  adapted  for  different  fish.  Blow- 
flies are  abroad  from  May  to  the  end  of  November,  or 
even  to  the  middle  of  December  in  mild  seasons.  The 
scouring  of  these  gentles  is  effected  by  placing  them  for  a 
few  days  in  a  mixture  of  bran  and  fine  sand,  slightly 
damp.  By  this  process  they  are  emptied  of  their  con- 
tents, and  rendered  tough  in  their  skins.  When  the 
object  is  to  preserve  them  in  this  state  for  many  days, 
they  must  be  kept  in  a  very  cool  place,  such  as  a  cellar, 
or  they  even  should  be  buried  in  the  earth.  Without 
attention  to  this  precaution  they  are  almost  sure  to  assume 
the  chrysalis  condition,  in  which  stage  they  are  useless  as 
baits.  A  low  temperature  and  exclusion  from  air  and 
light  retard  this  development ;  and  by  burying  the  carcass 
of  a  small  animal  after  the  larvae  are  a  day  old  in  a  cool 
place,  and  confined  in  a  box  containing  a  mixture  of  dry 
cow-dung  and  fine  earth,  the  gentles  may  be  preserved  in 
their  larva  state  during  the  whole  winter.  The  place 
selected  should  be  protected  from  severe  frosts,  which 
would  kill  the  gentles,  and  therefore  an  outhouse  is  well 


RIVER   FISH   AND   FISHING.  385 

suited  for  this  purpose,  or  any  space  in  the  garden  well 
sheltered  by  a  thick  shrub,  such  as  the  sheep  laurel. 

The  larvae  of  the  various  beetles  are  called  by  anglers, 
the  white  worm  grub,  the  cow-dung  grub,  the  cabbage 
yrub,  and  the  meal  worm.  The  first  is  the  larva  of  the 
cockchafer,  and  is  found  in  loose  loamy  soils,  especially 
near  the  horse-chestnut.  It  may  be  easily  found  by  fol- 
lowing the  plough.  The  second,  as  its  name  implies,  is 
found  in  cow-dung,  and  is  the  larva  of  several  of  the 
beetle  tribe.  The  third  is  found  in  the  stalks  of  old  cab- 
bages, and  often  about  their  roots,  and  is  the  larva  of 
two  or  three  varieties  of  the  beetle.  The  last  is  found  in 
the  meal-tub,  is  much  smaller  than  the  three  first-men- 
tioned varieties  of  grubs,  and  is  not  so  good  for  angling 
purposes  as  the  gentle. 

These  grubs  may  all  be  preserved  by  simply  placing 
them  with  some  of  the  earth  in  which  they  are  found,  in 
any  receptacle,  keeping  them  afterwards  in  a  cool  situa- 
tion. 

Caddies  are  the  larvae  of  the  ephemera,  or  May-fly, 
as  well  as  the  stone-fly  and  the  caddis-fly.  They  are  easi- 
ly found  beneath  the  stones,  weeds,  &c.,  of  shallow  brooks, 
and  may  be  stored  by  putting  them  in  water,  with  some 
sand,  in  a  cool  place.  By  placing  them  in  a  perforated 
box,  they  may  be  suffered  to  remain  in  a  running  stream, 
where  they  continue  to  grow  and  thrive  as  well  as  in  their 
native  haunts.  They  are  not,  however,  much  prized  as 
angling  baits. 

Caterpillars,  or  the  larvaa  of  the  butterfly,  are  either 
smooth  or  rough.  The  former  are  not  much  used,  and  the 
17 


386  MANUAL   FOE  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

latter  are  so  thoroughly  imitated  by  the  artificial  fly  called 
the  palmer,  that  they  are  scarcely  ever  employed.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  in  angling  natural  products  are  better 
than  artificial,  if  they  are  equally  capable  of  enduring  the 
rough  usage  required  to  drag  them  through  the  water. 
In  this  respect  it  is  that  the  artificial  palmer  beats  the 
hairy  caterpillar,  its  original;  and  hence  the  latter  is 
almost  wholly  driven  out  of  the  angler's  list  of  baits. 

Salmon-roe  is  a  very  favorite  and  killing  bait  for  trout, 
and  is  found  to  be  so  destructive  that  its  use  is  often  con- 
sidered to  be  a  species  of  poaching.  I  cannot  understand 
on  what  principle  this  odious  stigma  should  be  cast  upon 
its  adoption,  because  it  may  be  employed,  like  any  other 
bait,  in  open  day ;  and  the  only  objection  to  it  which  can 
be  urged  is  its  very  great  success.  No  one  would  call  an 
unerring  shot  a  poacher,  simply  because  he  kills  more  than 
his  neighbors ;  then  why  should  the  bait  which  is  more 
successful  than  any  other  labor  under  this  imputation  ? 
It  appears  to  me  that  every  one  is  straining  to  effect  a 
certain  purpose,  viz.,  the  killing  of  the  greatest  number 
of  fish,  and  yet  when  a  certain  mode  of  attaining  this 
object  is  at  hand,  its  adoption  is  forbidden  because  it  will 
insure  what  all  are  aiming  at,  and  by  open  means,  too. 
However,  as  I  cannot  discover  any  real  foundation  for 
this  crusade  against  the  salmon-roe,  I  shall  include  it  in 
the  list  of  baits,  and  describe  its  preparation  and  mode  of 
application  to  the  hook.  The  roe  itself  should  be  collect- 
ed as  near  the  time  of  spawning  as  possible,  and  should 
either  be  preserved  whole,  or  be  made  into  a  paste  at  once. 
If  the  former,  the  best  way  is  to  keep  it  in  a  jar,  with 


RIVER   FISH    AND    FISHING.  387 

alternate  layers  of  wool.  The  roe  should  be  carefully 
separated  from  its  enveloping  membrane,  and  should  be 
sprinkled  with  salt,  as  also  should  the  wool.  When  the 
jar  is  filled,  it  should  be  tied  down  with  a  bladder,  and 
kept  in  a  cool  and  rather  moist  place,  such  as  a  cellar. 

Salmon-roe  paste  is  made  by  boiling  the  roe  without  its 
envelope  for  20  minutes,  then  bruising  it  in  a  marble  mor- 
tar until  it  forms  a  uniform  mass.  After  this  add  to  each 
pound  of  the  roe  one  ounce  of  common  salt  and  a  quarter 
of  an  ounce  of  saltpetre ;  beat  them  all  up  together,  and 
keep  in  a  jar  tied  down  with  bladder. 

Paste  may  be  made  in  the  same  way  of  shad  and 
smelt  roe,  and  are  very  killing  bait  for  bass. 

Shrimp  paste  is  made  exactly  in  the  same  way,  after 
removing  the  shells.  * 

Bread  paste  is  also  used  as  a  means  of  taking  fish,  and 
is  made  from  new  bread,  well  kneaded,  and  with  or  with- 
out the  addition  of  honey.  It  is  either  used  in  the  white 
state,  or  it  is  colored  with  vermillion,  lake,  or  turmeric. 
Sometimes  stale  bread  is  used,  but  it  requires  more  kneading, 
and  the  addition  of  gum  water,  or  soaked  greaves,  or  some 
more  adhesive  material.  It  is  often  flavored  with  the  roe 
of  salmon,  or  other  fish ;  the  size  of  the  portion  used  must 
vary  with  the  fish  angled  for.  Cheese  is  also  sometimes 
made  the  foundation  of  paste,  either  by  itself  or  mixed 
with  bread ;  by  constant  kneading  it  becomes  perfectly 
tough,  and  withstands  the  action  of  the  water  for  a  long 
time.  A  peculiar  kind  of  paste  called  patent  paste,  is 
made  by  washing  away  all  but  the  pure  gluten.  A  paste 
of  flour  is  first  to  be  made  in  the  usual  way,  then  by  sue- 


388  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

cessive  washings  in  cold  water,  by  degrees  the  process  is 
completed,  care  being  taken  not  to  dissolve  the  gluten 
itself  by  mixing  it  up  with  the  water ;  and  to  avoid  this, 
after  each  successive  washing,  let  the  paste  drain  for  a  few 
minutes.  This  paste  will  keep  for  any  length  of  time,  if 
protected  from  the  action  of  the  air  by  wrapping  it  in 
sheet-lead. 

GROTJND-BAIT. — The  object  of  this  very  general  acces- 
sory to  the  angler's  art  is  to  collect  an  unusual  number  of 
fish  to  a  given  spot,  and  at  the  same  time  to  do  this  by  offer- 
ing them  a  quantity  of  bait  of  the  same  kind  as  that  which 
is  afterwards  to  be  used  on  the  hook,  but  of  an  inferior 
quality  to  it.  Thus,  if  intending  to  fish  with  earth-worms, 
bait  with  unsecured  worms,  and  fish  with  them  well  scoured. 
Worms  in  clay-balls  are  a  good  ground  bait,  because  they 
are  not  all  at  once  presented  to  the  fish,  but  appear  gradu- 
ally as  the  clay  dissolves.  Mr.  Salter,  who  is  a  good 
authority  in  bottom-fishing,  recommends  the  crumb  of  a 
quartern  loaf  to  be  cut  in  slices  two  inches  thick,  and  soaked 
in  water  till  thoroughly  saturated,  then  squeeze  it  tolera- 
bly dry,  and  add  bran  and  pollard,  kneading  all  together  till 
a  firm  mass  is  the  result  as  tough  as  clay.  Soaked  greaves, 
which  are  commonly  known  in  the  United  States  as  cf'aps, 
being  the  refuse  of  flesh  used  in  sausage-making,  mixed  with 
tenacious  clay,  are  a  very  useful  ground-bait ;  and  may  be 
made  into  large  masses,  and  thrown  into  the  water  in 
lumps  of  two  or  three  pounds  weight.  Gentles  mixed 
with  sand  are  also  used,  but  they  should  be  unsecured,  and 
coarse  old  carrion  gentles  for  this  purpose  are  the  best,  as 


RIVER    FISH    AND    FISHING.  389 

the  fish  will  be  attracted  by  them,  but  will  take  the  scoured 
gentle  on  the  hook  iu  preference. 

Dead  fish  as  baits  are  usually  so  arranged  on  the  hooks 
as  to  spin  or  rotate  on  their  axis  rapidly,  by  the  action 
of  the  current,  or  by  drawing  them  through  the  water. 
This  is  an  unnatural  motion,  and  unlike  any  movement  of 
any  known  inhabitant  of  the  river ;  nevertheless,  it  takes 
well  with  many  fish  ;  and,  judged  by  that  unerring  crite- 
rion, may  safely  be  approved  of  and  adopted.  Minnows, 
trout-tails,  bream,  shiners,  and  other  small  fish,  are 
thus  used  ;  but  the  preference  is  always  given  to  the  two 
first  when  they  can  be  procured.  There  are  various  modes 
of  baiting  with  minnows  and  these  small  fish,  and  almost 
every  fisherman  has  his  particular  whims  and  oddities  here 
as  well  as  in  other  matters  connected  with  fishing.  Noth- 
ing could  more  completely  disprove  the  necessity  for  the 
adoption  of  any  peculiar  mode  of  baiting  than  the  immense 
variety  in  the  plans  of  the  most  successful  anglers.  Some 
use  one  hook,  some  two,  some  three,  and  others  even  four. 
Some — as  for  instance,  Mr.  Stoddart — bait  tail  foremost 
after  removing  the  head ;  others  always  take  care  to  pre- 
sent the  head  to  the  trout  or  pike.  The  great  thing  to  be 
attended  to  is  to  make  the  bait  spin  well,  Avhich  can  only 
be  done  by  producing  a  slight  curve  in  its  body,  and  by 
making  the  line  draw  it  on  one  side  more  than  the  other. 
In  this  way,  with  one  or  two  swivels,  which  prevent  the 
line  throwing  any  impediment  in  the  way,  the  bait  rotates 
rapidly  if  well  applied,  and  the  fish  is  deceived  to  his  ruin. 
When  two  hooks  only  are  used,  the  extreme  one  is  larger 
than  the  other — usually  Nos.  3  and  5,  English  sizes — and 


390  MANUAL,   FOB   TOTHSTG    SPORTSMEN, 

they  are  whipped  on  the  same  piece  of  gut  or  gimp,  at  an 
interval  of  about  half  an  inch  clear  between  them.  A  bait- 
ing needle  is  required  for  most  of  these  hooks,  but  here  it  is 
not  necessary,  as  the  larger  hook  is  passed  through  the 
mouth  and  out  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  so  as  to  leave  the 
barb  free.  When  this  has  been  done  nicely,  the  minnow 
assumes  a  bent  form,  corresponding  with  that  of  the  hook, 
and  if  properly  put  on,  it  will  spin  or  rotate  when  rapidly 
drawn  through  the  water.  But  for  this  purpose  its  mouth 
must  be  closed  mechanically,  and  this  is  effected  either  by 
a  leaden  cap  which  slips  down  over  the  line,  or  by  the  sec- 
ond hook  being  passed  through  both  lips,  and  thus  holding 
them  shut ;  or  sometimes,  in  addition,  by  a  few  stitches 
with  a  fine  needle  and  thread.  Colonel  Hawker  recom- 
mends a  hook  or  two  to  be  allowed  to  float  loosely  and 
openly  by  the  side  on  a  stout  piece  of  gut,  but  I  cannot 
advise  their  adoption.  The  usual  mode  of  employing  the 
third  hook  is  to  whip  it  on  to  a  piece  of  gut  about  an  inch 
long,  and  then  to  include  this  gut  in  the  whipping  of  the 
second  or  smaller  hook,  which  it  should  also  match  in  size. 
This  third  hook  then,  lies  closely  adapted  to  the  side  of 
the  bait,  but  not  floating  loosely,  as  advised  by  Colonel 
Hawker.  The  two  first  are  applied  exactly  in  the  same 
way  as  when  two  hooks  only  are  used,  when  the  third  will 
lie  flat  against  the  side  of  the  bait,  and  retains  its  position 
there  by  the  stiffness  of  the  gut  or  gimp.  This  last  form 
is  used  for  the  application  of  the  celebrated  parr-tail  as  a 
bait,  which  is  much  used  in  Scotland;  and  is  strongly 
recommended  by  Mr.  Stoddart,  one  of  the  highest  author- 
ities on  the  subject.  He  advises  all  the  fins  and  tails  to 


RIVER   FISH    AND    FISHING. 


391 


be  cut  off,  and  the  head  and  shoulders  to  be  then  obliquely 
sliced  off  with  a  sharp  knife.  When  this  is  done,  the  tail- 
end  is  to  be  used  forward — that  is,  nearest  the  rod,  and  is 
then  made  to  appear  as  the  head  of  a  fish.  In  this  mode 
the  shiner,  bream,  or  other  small  fish  may  be  prepared,  when 
the  parr  is  not  to  be  found ;  and  they  answer  well  for 
large  trout  or  pike.  But  nothing  takes  so  completely  and 
generally  as  a  good  minnow  of  the  proper  size,  requiring 
no  paring,  and  fitting  the  hooks  exactly,  so  as  to  allow  the 
one  to  project  slightly  through  the  tail,  while  the  other 
closes  the  mouth.  Some  other  modes  are  described  as 
useful  variations  in  adapting  dead  fish-baits,  but  I  believe 
the  double  or  treble  hook,  as  above,  will  suit  all  purposes 
where  the  bait  is  required  to  spin  rapidly,  whether  it  be 
the  entire  fish,  or  part,  as  already  mentioned.  The 
shiner,  bream,  or  roach  may  be  divided  in  the  same  way  as 
the  parr,  and  will  spin  remarkably  well  when  used  as  he 
recommends  that  little  fish  to  be  employed ;  as  will  also 
the  perch  itself  when  deprived  of  its  back  fin,  or  any  of 
the  smaller  fish  which  are  attractive  to  the  pike.  All 
these  various  hooks  require  swivel-traces,  single  or  double, 
which  will  be  found  described  under  the  head  of  pike- 
fishing. 


392  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Minnows  are  also  mounted  on  gorge-hooks  :  see  wood- 
cut, in  which  a  represents  the  hook  itself,  and  b  the  fish  and 
hook  ready  for  use.  Gorge-hooks  are  either  single  or  double, 
the  latter  being  represented  in  the  annexed  woodcut.  In 
baiting  this  hook,  after  it  has  been  whipped  to  a  piece  of 
strong  gut  looped  at  the  other  end,  take  a  needle  used  for 
the  purpose,  and  by  its  means  draw  the  gut  and  hook 
through  the  mouth  and  body  of  the  fish,  bringing  the 
needle  out  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  and  leaving  the  hook 
buried  in  the  body  of  the  minnow,  with  the  bend  and  barb 
of  the  hook  on  each  side  of  its  mouth.  After  the  needle 
has  been  brought  out,  re-enter  it  on  the  other  side,  so  as 
to  include  a  piece  of  the  flesh  of  the  tail  in  a  loop  of  the 
gut.  If  this  is  neatly  done  it  will  be  found,  after  drawing 
the  gut  tight,  that  there  is  no  disposition  in  the  fish  to  slip 
off  the  hook,  unless  very  flabby ;  in  which  case  a  single 
turn  of  light  silk  tied  tightly  round  the  root  of  the  tail,  is 
sure  to  make  all  safe.  Besides  these  modes  some  others 
are  used  in  pickerel-fishing,  but  as  they  are  peculiar  to  that 
department,  they  will  be  treated  of  under  the  head  of 
Pickerel-Fishing. 

Dead  bait-fish  may  be  preserved  for  use,  as  well  as  other 
small  baits,  by  keeping  them  in  salt  and  water,  or  pyrolig- 
neous  acid  and  water ;  but  the  latter,  I  believe,  gives  them 
a  flavor  which  fish  do  not  like.  Sugar  also  will  answer  the 
purpose,  or  any  kind  of  spirit,  as  whiskey  or  gin ;  but  by 
far  the  best  material  is  oil,  which  will  keep  them  sweet, 
and  also  stiff,  for  a  great  length  of  time,  if  they  are  just 
raised  to  the  boiling  temperature,  by  immersing  the  vessel 
containing  the  oil  and  fish  in  boiling  water  for  a  few  min- 


RIVER    FISH    AXD   FISHING.  393 

utes.  More  than  this  renders  them  tender,  and  liable  to 
break.  All  fish  bait  should  be  killed  by  a  blow  on  the 
head  as  soon  as  taken. 

Live  fish  form  a  very  common  lure  for  the  larger 
kinds  of  fish,  and  they  are  used  by  inserting  the  hook  in 
some  part  of  the  body  not  necessarily  vital.  This  is  called 
roving,  and  is  practised  with  any  of  the  smaller  fish,  such 
as  minnows,  shiners  and  the  like,  in  capturing  trout,  perch, 
pickerel,  &c.  The  hook  is  merely  entered  in  the  back  close 
to  the  fin,  and  the  barb  is  suffered  to  protrude  above  that 
appendage  and  with  the  point  of  the  hook  directed  towards 
the  tail  of  the  fish.  The  line  must  be  shotted  so  as  to  sink 
the  fish  to  the  required  depth,  and  it  may  be  used  with  or 
without  a  float.  Some  other  methods  of  fixing  the  hooks 
have  been  recommended,  by  which  the  hook  is  entered  in 
one  part,  then  made  to  traverse  the  fish  under  the  skin, 
and  finally  brought  out  at  the  mouth ;  but  they  are  so 
abominably  cruel  that  I  must  decline  having  any  thing  to 
do  with  their  description.  All  field-sports  are  too  much 
mixed  up  with  an  undercurrent  of  cruelty ;  but  where 
there  is  a  choice,  no  man  of  any  ordinary  feeling  will  hesi- 
tate in  selecting  the  least  severe  modes  of  taking  game. 

Frogs  may  be  used  exactly  in  the  same  way  as  the 
minnow,  by  passing  the  hook  through  the  skin  of  the  back. 
They  must  be  well  shotted,  to  keep  them  down,  and  must 
be  raised  to  the  surface  every  four  or  five  minutes,  to 
allow  them  to  respire. 

Bait-fish  are  procured  for  the  purpose  of  using  them 
as  baits,  either  by  angling  for  them,  and  carefully  remov- 
ing them  from  the  hook,  and  then  placing  them  at  once  in 
17* 


394  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

a  vessel  of  water,  or  by  taking  them  with  a  large  hoop-net 
or  fine  casting-net.  The  last  plan  is  that  usually  adopted, 
but  it  requires  some  little  practice  for  its  use,  and  nothing 
but  an  ocular  demonstration  will  give  any  idea  of  the 
mode  of  employment.  Any  fisherman  will,  however,  ini- 
tiate the  tyro  for  a  trifling  consideration.  With  the  hoop- 
net  they  may  be  taken,  by  sinking  it  by  means  of  weights 
to  the  bottom  of  the  brook ;  Ihen,  after  enticing  the  min- 
nows by  means  of  small  pieces  of  worms  dropped  over  it, 
the  string  is  suddenly  raised,  and  the  minnows  are  caught 
in  its  meshes. 

Bait-fish  may  be  preserved  alive  by  placing  them  in  a 
perforated  tin  or  wooden  case,  and  sinking  them  in  any 
running  stream,  in  which  mode  they  retain  their  health 
and  liveliness  for  an  indefinite  period.  They  may  also  be 
kept  alive  for  a  long  time  in  any  clean  vessel  by  changing 
their  water  frequently ;  but  in  this  way  they  are  not  so 
healthy  as  in  the  above  plan.  When  wanted  for  use,  a 
small  bait-kettle  is  used  with  a  perforated  lid,  and  capable 
of  containing  from  one  to  two  quarts  of  water.  This 
should  be  kept  under  the  shade  of  a  tree  or  hedge  while 
the  fishing  is  going  on,  as  the  heat  of  the  sun  soon  raises 
the  temperature  of  the  water  to  such  a  height  as  to*  de- 
stroy the  life  of  the  fish,  or  so  nearly  so  as  to  cause  their 
death  soon  after  putting  them  on  the  hook. 

ARTIFICIAL  BAITS  AND  FLIES. 

Minnows  are  now  manufactured  so  as  closely  to  resem- 
ble the  real  fish  in  appearance,  but  most  of  them  fail  in 


RIVER    FISH    AND    FISHING.  395 

imitating  the  consistence  and  softness  of  the  original,  and 
consequently  do  not  take  nearly  so  well  as  their  appear- 
ance would  lead  one  to  expect.  The  Archimedian  minnow 
spins  beautifully,  and  so  do  some  others  constructed  on 
similar  principles,  and  all  will  take  good  fish,  but  certainly 
not  so  well  as  the  real  minnow.  In  many  localities,  how- 
ever, these  are  very  scarce,  and  there  the  substitute  is 
certainly  useful.  Mr.  Flinn's  flexible  minnows  are  far 
the  best,  as  they  are  soft  and  yielding  to  the  grasp  of 
the  fish;  they  are  made  of  gutta  percha,  painted  very 
closely  in  imitation  of  the  minnow,  gudgeon,  &c.,  and  are 
of  sizes  suited  to  all  fish,  from  the  trout  to  the  salmon. 
The  Archimedian,  on  the  other  hand,  is  hard  and  inflexi- 
ble, and  though  it  spins  well,  and  is  to  the  eye  all  that  can 
be  desired,  yet  from  its  hardness  to  the  touch  it  is  very 
apt  to  deter  fish  from  a  close  approach,  and  is  not  so  suc- 
cessful as  Mr.  Flinn's  imitation.  Mr.  Blacker,  also,  has 
recently  introduced  a  modification  of  the  "  devil-bait," 
with  the  addition  of  a  pair  of  Archimedian  fins  ;  this  is 
said  to  spin  well,  and  to  take  good  fish,  but  I  know  noth- 
ing personally  of  its  properties. 

Artificial  flies  are  so  numerous,  and  their  importance 
is  so  great,  that  a  great  part  of  the  angler's  time  is  gener- 
ally occupied  in  mastering  a  knowledge  of  their  various 
forms,  and  the  mode  of  tying  them.  All  of  them  are 
composed  of  three  essential  parts  :  first,  the  hook ;  second, 
the  gut  or  loop  to  attach  the  hook  to  the  line  ;  and  third, 
the  various  articles  tied  on  the  hook  for  the  purpose  of 
imitating  the  natural  fly.  The  angler  will  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  his  hooks  and  gut,  both  of  which,  how- 


396  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPOKTSMEN. 

ever,  he  ought  to  select  with  great  care ;  but  he  will  expe- 
rience some  little  vexation  and  disappointment  when  he 
attempts  to  tie  an  artificial  fly,  especially  without  the  prac- 
tical instruction  of  some  older  craftsman. 

HACKLES  AND  PALMERS — The  mode  of  tying  the 
peacock-hackle,  jig.  1,  which  is  one  of  the  simplest  of 
all  flies,  is  as  follows  : — Begin  by  whipping  the  hook  on 
the  gut,  leaving  a  loose  end  of  the  silk  hanging  from  the 
shoulder  where  the  whipping  is  to  be  commenced.  When 
the  whipping  has  proceeded  to  within  two  or  three  turns 
of  the  bend,  include  within  its  folds  the  ends  of  two 
or  three  peacock-herls,  which  are  to  be  left  projecting 
beyond  the  bend,  and  after  making  these  turns  fasten  off. 
Then  take  a  red  cock's  hackle,  and  smooth  the  fibres  of  it 
well ;  with  a  pair  of  scissors  trim  these  off  at  the  point, 
leaving  the  shank  bare  for  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch ; 
next  include  this  within  two  or  three  turns  of  the  silk 
left  at  the  shoulder,  directing  the  hackle  towards  the  gut 
and  fastening  off  the  silk.  Then,  taking  the  bend  of  the 
hook  between  the  finger  and  thumb  of  the  left  hand,  lay 
hold  of  the  herls  with  the  right,  and  wind  them  carefully 
round  the  shank  of  the  hook  up  to  the  point  where  the 
hackle  is  tied,  where  they  are  to  be  included  in  the :  silk 
which  is  still  left  there  and  then  cut  off.  The  body  is  now 
complete,  but  the  legs  are  still  to  be  imitated  by  the 
hackle,  which  should  be  carefully  wound  round  the  hook 
above  the  herl ;  arranging  the  fibres,  as  it  is  wound,  by 
means  of  the  picker,  and  fastening  off  at  last  by  means  of 
the  silk  which  is  still  projecting,  and  left  for  the  purpose. 
Now  cut  off  the  silk  at  both  ends,  lay  on  carefully  a  very 


RIVER   FISH    AND   FISHING.  397 

little  varnish  at  each  end,  and  the  fly  is  complete.  All 
palmers  and  hackles,  figs.  2,  3,  and  4,  are  made  on  this 
principle,  substituting  various  feathers  for  the  cock's 
hackle,  and  various  dubbings  for  the  peacock-herl. 

SIMPLE  WINGED-FLIES. — Sometimes  a  pair  of  wings 
are  tied  on  at  the  same  time  as  the  hackle-point,  and  after- 
wards the  hackle  is  wound  round  the  shank,  and  thus 
serves  to  keep  the  wings  from  lying  flat  against  the  hook 
when  in  the  water.  (See  the  black  gnat,  hare-lug,  yellow 
sally,  oak-fly,  caperer,  &c.) 

THE  BLACK  GNAT,  fig.  5,  is  tied  in  the  same  way  as 
the  peacock  hackle,  using  a  smaller  hook,  No.  13,  and 
fine  black  silk.  A  small  black  ostrich-herl  forms  the  body, 
and  a  piece  of  the  starling's  wing-feather  the  wings.  A 
very  fine  black  cock's  hackle  is  used  for  the  legs. 

THE  HARE-LUG,  fig.  6,  is  composed  of  a  body  consist- 
ing of  a  dubbing  from  the  back  of  the  hare's  ear,  making 
it  thin  and  neat  towards  the  tail,  and  pretty  stout  near 
the  shoulder.  The  hook  is  of  the  same  size  as  in  the  black 
gnat,  and  the  wings  are  the  same.  After  these  are  tied, 
pick  out  a  little  of  the  dubbing  to  make  the  legs. 

THE  YELLOW  SALLY,  fig.  7,  is  tied  exactly  like  the 
hare-lug,  with  the  substitution  of  yellow  or  buff  mohair  or 
fur  for  that  of  the  hare,  and  the  addition  of  a  fine  yellow 
cock's  hackle  for  legs ;  wings  from  a  feather  from  the 
inside  of  the  thrush's  wing.  Hook  No.  12. 

THE  OAK-FLY,  fig.  8. — The  body  is  made  of  brown 
mohair  and  a  little  hare's  ear-fur  towards  the  tail.  Legs  of 
a  bittern's  hackle,  or  partridge  feather,  or  a  furnace-cock's 
hackle ;  wings  of  a  woodock's  wing-feather.  Hook  No.  8. 


398  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

THE  CAPERKR,  jig.  9,  is  made  up  as  follows  : — Body  of 
rich  brown  floss-silk  ;  legs  of  a  fine  red  or  brown  hackle ; 
wings  of  a  woodcock's  feather.  Hook  No.  9. 

THE  WINGED-PALMER,  fig.  10,  a  good  common  autumn 
fly,  is  made  on  the  same  plan  as  the  peacock-hackle,  but 
of  a  smaller  size,  and  with  the  addition  of  a  pair  of  wings 
made  from  the  outside- feather  of  the  thrush's  wing.  The 
end  of  the  body  is  finished  with  a  few  turns  of  orange  silk. 
Hook  No.  9  or  10.  It  is  the  cock-y-bondhu  of  Wales. 

WINGED  AND  TAILED-FLIES. — These  are  made  like  the 
last  set  of  flies,  except  that  at  the  time  of  whipping  on  the 
hook  the  fibres  are  included  which  are  to  constitute  the 
tail.  The  body  is  then  formed  by  the  dubbing,  floss-silk, 
or  herl,  and  the  wings  tied  as  before.  This  set  includes, 
among  a  vast  variety  of  flies,  the  May-fly,  green  drake, 
stone-fly,  March-brown,  red  spinner,  &c. 

THE  GREEN  DRAKE  OR  MAY  FLY,  fig.  11. — Body 
made  of  yellow  floss-silk  or  mohair,  dyed  a  pale  yellowish 
green,  and  ribbed  with  bright  yellow  silk;  tail  of  two  or 
three  hairs  of  the  sable  or  fitchet,  or  of  fine  horse-hair  from 
the  mane ;  legs  of  a  gray  cock's  hackle,  dyed  the  same  color 
as  the  mohair,  or  of  a  ginger  pile  undyed ;  wings  from 
the  mallard's  back-feather,  dyed  of  the  same  yellowish 
green.  Hook  No.  6  or  7. 

THE  GRAY  DRAKE,  fig.  12,  is  made  as  follows  : — Body 
of  pale  dun-colored  mohair;  tail  of  two  fibres  from  the 
feather  of  the  mallard's  back ;  legs  of  a  brown  or  ginger 
cock's  hackle ;  wings  from  the  gray  feather  of  the  mal- 
lard's back,  undyed.  Hook  No.  6. 

THE  STONE-FLY,  fig.  13. — Body  of  red  mohair,  ribbed 


EIVER   FISH   AND   FISHING.  399 

with  gold  or  yellow  silk  ;  tail  of  two  long  fibres  from  a 
coarse  red  cock's  hackle ;  legs  a  red  cock's  hackle,  carried 
down  over  all  the  body ;  wings  of  the  hen-pheasant's  tail- 
feather,  or  of  the  gray  goose  wing-feather.  Hook  No.  6. 

THE  MARCH-BROWN,  -fig.  14. — This  fly  is  made  of  two 
sizes;  one  on  hook  No.  7,  the  other  on  No.  11  or  12. 
The  body  is  of  brown  floss-silk ;  tail  of  two  long  fibres  of 
the  red  cock's  hackle  ;  legs  of  brown  cock's  hackle ;  wings 
of  a  woodcock's  feather. 

THE  RED  SPINNER,  fig.  15,  is  tied  on  hook  No.  7. 
Body  of  red  mohair,  sometimes  ribbed  with  gold  ;  tail  of 
two  fibres  of  a  red  cock's  hackle ;  legs  of  the  same  hackle ; 
wings  of  a  brown  mallard's  feather. 

THE  WINGED-LARVA  of  Mr.  Blacker,  fig.  16,  resem- 
bles the  green  drake  in  all  but  the  body,  which  is  pro- 
longed separately  from  the  hook  by  means  of  a  couple  of 
hog's  bristles,  which  are  tied  in  with  it  and  the  tail-hairs, 
and  extend  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  beyond  the  bend. 
The  silk  or  dubbing  is  then  carried  from  the  shank  to  the 
bristles ;  and  thus  the  fly  has  the  appearance  of  a  long 
body.  The  legs  are  often  made  with  a  dyed  feather  of  the 
mallard's  back,  used  as  a  hackle. 

EXTRA  TROUT-FLIES. — Those  given  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs  will  suffice  for  all  common  purposes ;  but  they 
may  be  varied  ad  infinitum  by  the  angler  to  suit  particu- 
lar localities.  If,  however,  he  makes  himself  perfect  in 
the  manufacture  and  use  of  these,  and  has  the  stock 
of  materials  necessary  for  fly-making,  it  will  be  at  all 
times  easy  for  him  to  extend  his  list,  either  by  imitating 
the  prevalent  natural  fly,  or  that  which  is  successfully 


400  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

employed  by  the  anglers  familiar  with  the  district.  Mr. 
Stoddart  is  of  opinion  that,  for  the  trout,  the  red, 
brown,  and  black  hackles,  with  or  without  wings,  and  the 
hare-lug,  are  sufficient  for  all  ordinary  purposes.  This 
is  perhaps  carrying  simplicity  to  an  extreme  length  ;  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  young  angler  is  often  over- 
whelmed with  useless  flies,  as  well  as  other  complicated 
forms  of  fishing-tackle,  in  order  to  suit  the  trading  pro- 
pensities of  the  tackle-makers.  No  doubt  in  Mr.  Stod- 
dart's  case  the  above  flies  would  be  more  successful  than 
others  attached  to  the  line  of  a  beginner ;  but  even  the 
above  celebrated  piscator  does  not  maintain  that  no  others 
will  be  more  successful  at  times  than  the  three  he  has 
selected,  but  that  there  is  no  absolute  necessity  for  them. 
This  certainly  is  in  accordance  with  my  own  experience, 
as  I  have  known  a  very  successful  angler,  who  never  pos- 
sessed any  fly  but  the  red  and  black  palmer  and  the  black 
gnat.  Still  I  have  no  doubt  that  at  least  as  great  a 
variety  as  I  have  enumerated  will  at  certain  times  be  use- 
ful, though  some  of  them  will  only  suit  particular  months. 
The  following  list  will  perhaps  be  some  little  aid  to  the 
young  angler  who  is  anxious  to  try  a  greater  variety. 

THE  WREN'S  TAIL. — Body  of  sable-fur  and  gold- 
colored  mohair  mixed.  No  wings  ;  legs  of  a  wren's  tail- 
feather,  used  as  a  hackle.  Hook  No.  8. 

THE  GROUSE-HACKLE. — Body  of  gold-colored  mohair 
mixed  with  the  dark  fur  from  the  hare's  ear.  No  wings; 
legs  made  with  a  reddish-brown  grouse  feather,  used  as  a 
hackle.  Hook  No.  7. 

THE    DARK    CLARET. — Body    of    claret   mohair,   fine 


RIVER   FISH    AND   FISHING.  401 

towards  the  tail,  and  full  towards  the  shank.  Wings  four, 
two  below  from  the  starling's  wing,  and  the  upper  two 
from  the  partridge's  tail. 

THE  SPIDER-FLY. — Body  of  lead-colored  floss-silk; 
legs  of  a  small  black  cock's  hackle  below  and  above,  with  a 
hackle  made  from  the  woodcock's  feather,  taken  from  near 
the  butt-end  of  the  wing.  Hook  No.  7. 

THE  LITTLE  IRON-BLUE. — Body  of  slate-colored  mo- 
hair ;  tail  of  two  fine  hairs  from  a  dark  sable ;  legs  of  a 
fine  dun  cock's  hackle ;  wings  of  the  coot's  or  starling's 
wing- feather.  Hook  No.  9  or  10. 

THE  BLUE-BLOW. — Body  of  mole's  fur;  wings  of 
the  tomtit's  tail-feather.  Hook  No.  14. 

THE  HARE'S  EAR  AND  YELLOW. — Body  the  dark  fur 
of  a  hare's  ear,  mixed  with  a  little  yellow  mohair ;  wings 
of  a  starling's  feather.  Hook  No.  8. 

THE  ANT-FLIES  are  of  four  kinds — the  large  and  small 
red,  and  the  large  and  small  black.  The  red  are  tied  on 
Nos.  7  and  12.  Body  of  amber  mohair,  made  large 
towards  the  tail ;  legs  of  a  red  cock's  hackle ;  wings  of  a 
starling's  feather.  The  black  have  a  body  of  black  ostrich 
herl,  with  a  black  hackle  for  legs ;  wings  of  the  blue 
feather  of  the  jay's  wing. 

THE  MEALY- WHITE  NIGHT-FLY. — Body  white  rabbit- 
fur,  made  fully  as  large  as  a  straw  on  a  No.  5  hook ;  legs 
of  a  downy  white  hackle ;  wings  of  the  soft  mealy  feathers 
of  the  white-owl. 

THE  MEALY-BROWN  NIGHT-FLY. — Body  of  the  same 
size  as  the  preceding,  made  of  the  fur  of  a  tabby-rabbit ; 


402  MANUAL   FOB    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

legs  of  a  bittern's  hackle,  or  a  gray  cock's;    wings   the 
brown  feathers  of  a  white  owl.     Hook  No.  5  or  6. 

Salmon-flies  are  made  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
trout-flies,  but  as  they  are  larger,  so  they  are  capable  of 
being  tied  with  greater  exactness  and  finish.  They  are 
generally  of  much  more  gaudy  materials  than  the  trout- 
flies,  and  in  this  respect  they  have  latterly  been  used  still 
more  richly  colored  than  was  formerly  the  case,  even  in 
Ireland.  Until  lately,  very  sober  salmon-flies  were  ordi- 
narily used  in  Scotland,  the  prevailing  colors  being  gray, 
brown,  buff,  and  brick-dust ;  but  now  it  is  found  that  a 
much  more  brilliant  set  of  colors  will  answer  far  better, 
and  the  Irish  favorites,  viz.,  scarlet,  bright  yellow,  blue, 
and  green,  are  the  fashion,  united  with  less  bright  top- 
pings— as,  for  instance,  the  tail-feather  of  the  pheasant, 
or  the  back  or  breast  of  the  bittern  or  turkey.  In  Wales 
more  sober  flies  are  still  in  vogue ;  straw  colors,  natural 
mottles  and  pheasant  or  turkey  feathers  being  considered 
the  most  killing.  Tinsels  are  however  approved  of  in  all 
three  localities,  and  are  used  more  or  less  in  almost  every 
salmon-fly.  In  nearly  all  cases  this  fly  consists  of  a  body, 
a  head,  legs,  and  tail,  and  wings  of  a  very  compound 
nature ;  but  the  mode  of  tying  is  very  similar  to  'that 
adopted  in  trout  fly-making.  Most  salmon-flies  are  tied 
with  a  small  loop  of  gut  attached  to  the  shank,  instead 
of,  as  in  the  trout-fly,  a  full  length  of  that  material ;  some- 
times a  bristle  or  a  piece  of  wire  is  bent  for  the  purpqse, 
and  again  in  some  cases  the  gut,  either  plain  or  twisted,  is 
tied  on  as  in  the  trout-fly.  Whichever  mode  is  adopted, 
the  end  or  ends  of  the  gut  or  bristle  must  be  shaved  off, 


RIVER   FISH   AND   FISHING.  403 

and  moulded  with  the  teeth  into  slight  ridges,  so  as  neither 
to  present  an  abrupt  and  unsightly  edge  where  they  leave 
off,  nor  to  be  so  smooth  as  to  be  liable  to  slip  from  the 
hook.  This  eye  or  length  of  gut  is  to  be  first  whipped  on 
to  the  hook  in  the  usual  way  with  strong  waxed  silk,  which 
is  then  to  be  fastened  off  and  removed ;  and  for  the  sub- 
sequent tying,  a  finer  and  generally  a  bright-colored  silk 
adapted  to  the  particular  fly,  is  to  be  employed.  For 
American  fishing,  the  gaudy  flies  seem  generally  to  find 
the  most  favor ;  and  the  fish  are  so  bold  and  little  used  to 
the  angler's  tricks,  that  coarser  tackle  and  less  finely 
finished  flies  will  be  found  to  succeed  with  them. 

Sea  trout-flies  may  be  made  of  sizes  and  colors  inter- 
mediate between  the  trout  and  salmon-flies.  They  are 
tied  of  all  colors,  and  with  or  without  the  addition  of  a 
gaudy  tail  of  golden  pheasant  fibres,  and  tinsel  wound 
round  the  body.  The  following  size  and  form,  however, 
will  suit  the  trout  in  lakes,  and  the  average  size  of  the 
sea-trout  when  ascending  from  the  sea.  The  body  is  of 
brown  mohair ;  legs  of  a  black  cock's  hackle ;  wings  of  a 
brown  mallard's  feather ;  head  of  plain  waxed  silk.  Hook 
No.  5  or  6.  A  good  variation  consists  in  using  purple  or 
scarlet  dubbing  for  the  body ;  red  or  lilac-dyed  hackle, 
and  the  green-dyed  feather  generally  used  for  the  May-fly 
for  the  wings'  with  a  tail  of  a  few  fibres  of  the  common 
pheasant's  tail-feather.  Numberless  variations  of  these 
flies  are  made  and  sold,  but  the  whole  of  them  are  fanciful 
creations  of  the  maker's  brain,  and  not  imitations  of  any 
living  insect.  The  fisherman,  therefore,  may  please  his 
own  fancy,  and  try  his  skill  in  any  way  that  strikes  him, 


404  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

and  perhaps  the  more  novel  the  fly,  the  better  it  may  suc- 
ceed, though  there  is  still  a  considerable  section  of  good 
anglers  who  adhere  to  the  old-fashioned  flies  called  the 
butcher,  the  doctor,  &c. ;  but  I  fully  believe  that  any 
slight  variation  or  alteration  from  the  annexed  models, 
according  to  the  contents  of  the  angler's  stock  of  mate- 
rials, will  be  just  as  likely  to  succeed  as  the  celebrated 
"  ondine  "  of  Ephemera,  or  the  new  "  spirit-flies  "  of  Mr. 
Blacker.  These  flies  are  serviceable  for  large  brook  trout 
in  the  larger  American  streams  and  lakes. 

THE  LANDING-NET,  GAFF,  BASKET,  &c. 

V 

The  landing-net  is  merely  a  hoop  with  a  handle  to  it, 
and  armed  with  a  net  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  hooked 
fish  out  of  the  water,  without  danger  to  the  tackle  or  of 
losing  the  fish.  It  is  generally  now  made  with  a  hollow 
handle,  to  take  the  top  joints  of  the  rod,  and  this  handle 
screws  off  the  ring,  which  is  also  jointed,  for  the  conve- 
nience of  carriage. 

The  gaff  and  landing-hook  are  constructed  for  the  same 
purpose.  The  simple  hook  now  used,  attached  to  a  firm 
handle,  inflicts  the  least  severe  wound,  and  is  more  man- 
ageable than  the  gaff. 

The  basket  or  creel  is  slung  over  the  shoulder  by  a 
belt,  and  is  made  of  various  sizes,  to  suit  the  probable 
amount  or  weight  of  fish  expected  by  the  angler.  , 

Fish-bait  kettles  are  made  of  tin,  with  a  perforated  lid, 
and  a  handle  to  carry  them  by. 

The  drag-hook  is  a  long  line  of  strong  whipcord  wound 


EIVER    FISH    AND    FISHING.  405 

on  a  thumb-reel,  and  armed  with  a  three-hooked  blunt  drag 
weighted  with  lead,  so  that  when  a  hook  is  caught  in 
weeds  or  other  impediment,  the  drag  may  be  thrown  on  to 
the  same  spot,  and  the  weed  dragged  away  with  the  hook, 
or  at  all  events  the  greater  portion  of  the  line  may  be 
saved. 

The  clearing-ring  is  intended  for  the  same  purpose, 
and  is  a  jointed  ring  of  heavy  metal  which  opens  and  closes 
again  with  a  catch.  It  is  attached  to  a  long  line  like  the 
last,  and  is  passed  upon  the  end  of  the  rod  open,  and  when 
closed  is  slipped  down  the  reel-line  as  low  as  possible,  and 
then  drawn  to  land,  bringing  sometimes  the  hook  and 
obstacle  with  it,  but  generally  breaking  the  casting-line 
near  the  hook  or  about  the  shot.  This  does  not  act  so 
well  as  the  drag-hook  when  a  float  is  used. 

The  bait-box  is  merely  a  flat  box  perforated  with  small 
holes  in  the  lid,  for  containing  worms,  or  gentles,  or  dead 
minnows,  in  bran. 

The  disgorger  is  an  instrument  for  removing  the  hook 
from  the  throat  of  those  fish  which  swallow  their  bait,  and 
is  made  of  various  forms.  One  end  should  be  forked,  and 
the  other  perforated  with  a  hole,  and  ending  with  a  sharp- 
cutting,  round  surface,  like  a  spatula. 


BAIT  FISHING. 

THE  FISH  ANGLED  FOR  IN  THIS  WAY. 

EVERY  fish  enumerated  in  the  first  section  may  be  taken 
by  this  mode  of  angling;  even  the  noble  salmon  and 
the  wary  trout  may  thus  be  captured.  But  almost  all 
require  some  slight  modification  of  the  apparatus  or  bait 
employed,  and  of  the  mode  of  using  them  ;  and  therefore 
each  must  form  a  subject  to  be  studied  by  itself.  Com- 
mencing with  the  smaller  varieties  of  fish,  and  those  most 
easily  caught,  I  shall  take  all  in  the  order  of  their  usual 
presentation  to  the  young  angler.  With  each  variety  it 
will  be  my  purpose  to  specify — first,  the  kind  of  rod,  hook 
and  line,  to  be  used ;  secondly,  the  best  bait ;  thirdly,  the 
time  and  place  best  suited  for  each  kind  of  fish ;  and 
fourthly,  the  mode  of  fishing. 

FISHING  FOR  MINNOWS,  AND  SIMILAR  SMALL  FISH. 

The  rod,  line,  and  hooks  for  the  minnow  should  all  be 
fine  and  delicate,  especially  the  last,  which  must  be  of  the 


BAIT-FISHING. 


407 


smallest  size.  Three  or  four  hooks  should  be  whipped  on 
fine  gut  or  strong  horse-hair,  and  attached  to  a  short  line 
of  horse-hair  or  silk,  leaving  the  hooks  each  about  three  or 
four  inches  longer  than  the  one  next  above  it.  A  crow- 
quill  float,  and  any  light  but  stiff"  rod,  will  complete  the 
angling  requisites  for  this  fish. 

The  bait  should  be  of  very  small  red  worms,  or  pieces 
of  them. 

The  lowest  hook  and  bait  should  be  suffered  to  float 
tolerably  near  the  ground,  and  the  highest  at  mid-water, 
above  which  these  fish  seldom  feed.  At  the  slightest  indi- 
cation of  a  bite  the  rod  should  be  rapidly  raised,  as  by  this 
means  many  minnows  which  would  otherwise  be  lost  will 
be  taken,  while  the  worm  is  only  partially  in  the  mouth. 


CARP-FISHING. 


The  tackle  for  these  fish  should  be  as  follows  : — Rod, 
an    ordinary  bottom-rod — the  general   one    described  at 


408  MANUAL   FOB  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

page  oSO  will  suffice ;  line  of  plaited  silk  or  twisted  hair, 
with  a  good  length  of  stout  gut ;  float  of  cork  or  swan- 
quill;  hook,  No.  6  or  7.  A  plummet  will  always  be 
required.  Sometimes,  as  in  fishing  for  chub,  sinking  and 
drawing  are  practised  exactly  as  they  are  described. 

Ground-baiting  over  night  is.  always  to  be  practised 
for  carp  or  tench  if  the  boat  is  to  be  used ;  and  if  the 
angler  fishes  from  the  bank,  he  should  cast  in  a  little  of 
this  useful  accessory  every  few  minutes. 

The  best  baits  are  a  couple  of  red  worms  or  gentles ; 
sometimes  one  of  each  will  take  the  fancy  of  the  carp, 
which  is  a  very  fickle  and  cautious  fish,  and  very  difficult 
to  bring  to  hand.  Taylor  advocates  green  peas,  whch  are 
said  by  him  to  be  very  efficacious ;  but  all  sorts  of  baits 
succeed  at  times  and  fail  at  others.  The  angler,  therefore, 
who  is  anxious  to  take  carp,  may  try  caddies,  bees,  grass- 
hoppers, and  in  fact  the  whole  range  of  baits  described  at 
pages  380-1-2-3. 

Carp  are  in  season  from  February  to  September.  They 
take  a  bait  better  after  rain  than  at  any  other  time.  The 
deepest  and  stillest  parts  of  the  river  or  pond  are  those 
where  these  fish  are  the  most  likely  to  be  found,  but  in 
summer  they  are  very  fond  of  basking  near  the  surface, 
among  the  weeds,  and  it  is  then  extremely  difficult  to  per- 
suade them  to  take  any  bait. 

In  fishing  for  carp,  great  care  must  be  taken  by  the 
angler  to  keep  well  out  of  sight,  as  they  are  so  cautious  as 
to  refuse  all  baits  when  alarmed  by  the  sight  of  man. 
The  line  must  also  be  very  carefully  and  lightly  dropped 
into  the  water,  and  not  even  the  shadow  of  the  rod  allowed 


BAIT-FISHING. 


409 


to  fall  over  their  haunts.  For  the  carp,  two  or  three  rods 
may  be  used,  as  the  bait  must  be  left  for  a  long  time  quiet- 
ly in  one  spot,  where  the  carp  will  often  watch  it  most 
jealously  for  some  time,  and  then,  when  perfectly  satisfied 
of  its  freedom  from  guile,  he  will  at  last  take  it.  Even 
with  half  a  dozen  rods  there  is  no  danger  of  the  angler 
being  overdone  with  more  than  one  fish  at  a  time.  The 
bait  should  be  suspended  about  a  foot  from  the  bottom. 


PERCH-FISHING. 

For  small  perch,  such  as  are  most  commonly  met  with, 
a  "  general  rod  "  will  suffice  ;  and  the  common  line  with 
good-sized  gut,  and  a  No.  4  or  5  hook,  baited  with  lob- 
worms, or  almost  any  other  worm,  or  with  the  caddis,  cater- 
pillar, or  wasp-grub.  These  baits  must  be  varied  till 
18 


410  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

some  one  is  successful ;  or  if  it  is  known  beforehand  what 
bait  suits  the  particular  locality,  that  one  should  be  select- 
ed. The  paternoster-line,  armed  with  various  baits,  may 
be  used  if  the  angler  is  not  in  possession  of  the  above  kind 
of  iuformation ;  and  as  the  perch  swims  and  feeds  at  all 
depths,  it  is  the  best  kind  of  tackle  in  deep  water.  lu 
rivers  where  many  weeds  exist,  or  where  there  are  piles, 
or  roots,  or  trees,  this  tackle  is  not  so  manageable,  and 
the  sinking  and  drawing  plan  must  be  adopted. 

For  large  perch,  the  minnow,  either  dead  or  alive,  is 
the  best  bait ;  and  both  may  be  used  at  discretion.  For 
open  and  clear  water,  or  in  running  streams,  the  dead 
minnow,  with  the  spinning-tackle  as  described  at  page  390, 
is  the  most  killing  bait ;  or  the  shiner  may  be  used  according 
to  the  plan  described  in  the  same  page,  with  the  parr-tail ; 
and  which,  with  the  perch,  I  have  known  a  most  efficient 
lure ;  shrimp  is  also  an  undeniable  bait,  especially  in  tide 
streams.  The  gorge-hook  is  also  successful,  and  is  partic- 
ularly serviceable  in  awkward  and  weedy  rivers  where  the 
spinning-tackle  can  scarcely  be  used. 

The  season  for  perch  is  from  March  till  December, 
during  which  long  period  they  bite  with  varying  degrees  of 
readiness,  and  almost  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  It  is  gene- 
rally supposed  that  windy  weather  is  the  most  likely  to 
tempt  these  fish,  or  at  all  events,  that  they  are  as  free  to 
take  the  bait  then  as  at  other  times.  Such,  however,  is 
not  the  result  of  my  own  experience,  as  I  have  always 
found  a  marked  difference  in  perch,  as  well  as  other  fish, 
in  connection  with  strong  winds,  and  also  with  the  time 


BAIT-FISHING.  411 

of  day.     Young  anglers,  therefore,  should  take  this  dictum 
with  some  caution. 

Little  difference  in  the  mode  of  using  the  bait  need  be 
made  from  those  recommended  for  other  river  fish,  if  the 
perch  sought  for  are  small ;  but  in  localities  where  large 
perch  may  be  expected,  and  where  the  live  or  dead  fish- 
bait  is  used,  some  considerable  variation  must  be  practised. 
Hitherto  I  have  not  had  occasion  to  describe  the  mode  of 
using  the  live  and  dead  fish-baits ;  but  as  we  now  are  con- 
sidering their  adoption  in  taking  perch,  it  will  be  proper 
here  to  enter  upon  the  subject.  I  have  already  alluded 
to  the  mode  of  applying  the  live  minnow  to  the  hook,  or 
rather  of  inserting  the  latter  in  the  back  of  the  fish  close 
to  its  fin.  When  this  has  been  done,  and  the  gut  is  prop- 
erly shotted  with  about  two  or  three  No.  1  shot,  quietly 
enter  the  fish  at  some  distance  from  the  shore,  and  let  it 
take  its  own  course,  swimming  where  it  chooses.  A  float 
is  only  a  hindrance  to  the  live  bait ;  and  as  it  is  dragged 
about  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  it  serves  to  attract  the 
attention  of  the  perch,  and  is  very  apt  to  scare  them  away. 
As  soon  as  the  perch  is  seen  or  felt  to  take  the  bait,  strike 
pretty  firmly,  though  not  with  much  force.  Live  frogs 
may  be  used  in  the  same  way,  as  well  as  newts. 

Spinning  for  perch  is  practised  as  follows  : — The  bait 
being  applied  according  to  either  of  the  methods  described 
on  page  391,  the  angler  should  use  the  general  rod  with 
the  short  top ;  a  reel  and  reel-line  of  plaited-silk  or  twist- 
ed hair  and  silk  will  be  necessary,  and  a  good  length  of 
strong  gut,  or,  when  pike  are  likely  to  be  met  with,  of 
gimp,  armed  with  "one  or  two  box-swivels.  With  this 


412  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

apparatus  the  angler  proceeds  as  follows  : — He  first  casts 
or  throws  the  minnow  down  the  stream,  if  there  is  any, 
or,  if  in  still  water,  as  far  out  as  he  can;  then,  pulling  the 
bait  gently  yet  firmly  to  him  for  a  yard  or  so,  it  revolves 
rapidly  on  its  axis,  and  must  be  allowed  to  sink  for  a  few 
inches  at  the  end  of  that  distance  by  his  ceasing  to  draw 
in.  The  angler  then  repeats  the  operation  till  he  brings 
the  bait  out  of  the  water,  when  a  cast  in  a  fresh  direction 
must  be  made,  but  exactly  as  before  in  principle.  It  is 
obvious,  that  for  this  purpose  a  long  rod  is  required  to 
command  a  greater  extent  of  water,  and  a  more  numerous 
series  of  spins,  and  that  running  water  materially  assists 
the  spinning ;  still,  in  dead  water  a  well  mounted  minnow 
or  shiner  may  be  spun  with  great  effect,  and  will  kill 
there  in  preference  to  any  other  bait,  except  perhaps  a 
live  one  of  the  same  species. 

The  gorge-hook  is  used  with  the  full-sized  trolling-rod 
and  a  long  line,  a  yard  or  two  of  which  is  pulled  out  in 
a  loop  clear  of  the  reel,  and  held  loose  in  the  left  hand. 
Cast  as  gently  as  possible  the  minnow  from  you  down- 
stream, or  out  into  the  water,  if  it  is  still.  In  thus  cast- 
ing, the  loose  portion  of  the  line  is  expended,  and  the  bait 
is  thrown  considerably  further  than  it  otherwise  would  be. 
Then  begin  to  wind  up  a  little  at  a  time,  stop,  and  wind 
againj  thus  imitating  the  actions  of  the  living  small  fish 
represented  by  the  dead  bait.  When  the  length  of  the 
line  is  reduced  to  a  manageable  amount,  the  action  may 
be  varied  a  little,  and  the  fish  may  be  eased  downward  or 
upward,  or  among  piles  or  other  likely  places ;  but  in  all 
cases  proceeding  by  slight  jerks,  and  at  the  same  time  not 


BAIT-FISHING. 


413 


too  rapidly.  When  the  bait  is  thus  brought  to  hand  again, 
repeat  as  before,  and  try  all  likely  spots — first  casting  and 
drawing  over  and  through  the  nearest  places,  and  then 
extending  the  reach  to  the  most  distant  ones.  The  expert 
angler  will  always  study  the  actions  of  living  fish,  and 
endeavor  to  imitate  them,  which  example  is  far  better  than 
any  precept  that  can  be  given  in  print. 


PICKEREL-FISHING. 

As  these  fish  are  strong,  and  often  of  good  size,  and 
are  furnished  with  sharp  teeth,  the  tackle  must  be  in  pro- 
portion. The  rod  is  necessarily  longer  and  stronger  than 
that  known  as  the  "  general  rod,"  and  must  be  of  the  kind 
known  as  the  "trolling  rod,"  which  may  be  described  as  fol- 
lows : — It  should  be  here  mentioned  that  pickerel  are  taken 
with  the  minnow  or  shiner,  in  three  different  ways — first, 


414:  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

with  live  bait,  secondly,  with  dead  bait,  in  a  way  called 
"  snap-fishing  ;  "  and  thirdly,  Avith  the  gorge-hook,  on  prin- 
ciples similar  to  those  already  described.  The  first  and 
last  of  these  modes  require  a  long  and  tolerably  stiff  rod, 
while  snap-fishing  must  be  practised  with  the  top-joints  of 
the  rod  reduced  in  length,  and  of  greater  stiffness.  This 
will  serve  to  make  the  following  account  more  intelligible. 
The  angler  who  is  very  exigeant  in  his  desires  for  the 
most  perfect  implements  of  his  craft,  will  perhaps  require 
two  separate  rods  of  varying  sizes  for  each  purpose,  so  as 
to  suit  broad  and  narrow  rivers,  as  well  as  large  and  small 
fish  ;  but  the  more  easily  satisfied  fisherman  will  make  one 
rod  of  the  following  dimensions  serve  every  purpose.  A 
bamboo  rod  is  the  lightest,  and  is  yet  strong  and  stiff 
enough  for  any  practised  fisherman ;  it  will  not,  however, 
bear  very  rough  usage,  and  for  very  large  pickerel  the  butt 
and  second  joint  should  be  of  some  light  yet  tough  wood, 
such  as  holly,  which  may  be  bored  for  the  sake  of  dimin- 
ishing its  weight,  and  also  to  accommodate  within  its  cavity, 
as  in  a  place  of  security,  the  small  top  joints.  Of  these 
it  should  have  three — one  short  and  stiff,  and  two  others 
similar  to  one  another,  longer  and  more  elastic  than  the 
first.  The  short  one  is  made  entirely  of  whalebone,  and 
is  not  more  than  12  or  18  inches  long;  the  longer  tops  are 
made  two  thirds  of  hickory  or  lancewood,  and  the  remain- 
der of  whalebone.  These  rods  are  generally  made  in  five 
joints  of  nearly  equal  length ;  the  first,  second,  and  last 
as  above  described,  and  the  intermediate  two  joints  of 
bamboo.  They  are  united  by  the  ordinary  brass  ferules 
in  the  usual  way,  but  sometimes  other  methods  are  prac- 


BAIT-FISHING.  415 

tised ;  but  there  is  so  little  occasion  for  any  alteration, 
that  it  is  unnecessary  to  take  up  the  reader's  time  by  any 
further  description  of  them.  Almost  all  trolling-rods  used 
generally  are  furnished  with  rings,  which  are  made  to 
stand  up  from  the  rod,  in  order  to  allow  the  line  to  tra- 
verse their  opening  with  greater  facility.  These  are  usually 
made  of  broad  brass  ferules  encircling  the  rod,  and  having 
lesser  rings  of  wire  riveted  into  them  ;  but  a  much  lighter 
and  cheaper  plan  answers  perfectly  well,  and  may  be 
described  as  follows  : — Take  a  piece  of  wire  of  sufficient 
strength,  and  bend  it  into  a  ring  of  the  usual  size,  leaving 
a  short  tail  on  each  side ;  turn  these  tails  to  a  right  angle 
each  way,  and  flatten  the  ends  so  that  they  will  lie  along 
the  side  of  the  rod,  when  they  may  be  whipped  in  the 
usual  way.  They  thus  form  stand-up  rings,  easily  remov- 
able by  cutting  the  whipping-silk,  and  very  capable  of 
being  restored,  if  by  any  accident  they  are  injured.  One 
of  these  to  the  head  of  each  joint,  and  a  second  to  the 
middle  of  the  last,  are  about  the  proper  number.  Some 
anglers,  including  that  high  authority,  Mr.  Stoddart,  ap- 
prove of  the  same  kind  of  ring  as  is  used  in  ordinary  rods, 
but  I  confess  that,  though  I  have  the  highest  opinion  of 
Mr.  Stoddart's  judgment  in  general,  yet  in  this  instance 
I  cannot  agree  with  him,  as  there  can  be  no  doubt  in 
my  mind  that  the  fixed  and  upright  ring  allows  the  line 
to  run  more  freely  than  the  ordinary  one.  But  the  best 
of  all  are  the  new  patent  railroad  guides,  which  is  sta- 
tionary and  flat  to  the  rod.  A  large  reel  is  wanted, 
capable  of  holding  from  35  to  70  yards  of  line,  according 
to  the  nature  of  the  fish  and  extent  of  water  intended 


416  MANUAL   FOR    YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

to  be  fished.  This  reel  should  have  a  simple  large  barrel 
without  multipliers.  Floats  may  or  may  not  be  used, 
they  are  by  no  means  required.  The  reel-line  must  be 
strong,  and  the  plaited  silk  is  that  form  now  usually 
adopted,  as  it  is  found  to  be  more  free  from  "  kink- 
ing "  than  any  other.  An  essential  accessory  to  pickerel- 
fishing  is  the  swivel,  which  may  be  either  the  box-swivel 
or  the  hook-swivel ;  the  latter  differing  from  the  former 
only  in  having  a  small  hook  at  one  end.  These  are  attached 
to  lengths  of  gut,  or  more  usually  gimp,  forming  with  their 
help  what  are  called  double  or  single  swivel-traces. 

The  single  swivel-trace  consists  of  about  12  inches  of 
gut  or  gimp,  with  a  hook-swivel  at  one  end,  and  a  loop 
of  its  own  substance  at  the  other,  which  attaches  it  to  the 
reel-line  by  the  usual  draw  bow-knot.  The  double  swivel- 
trace  has,  in  addition,  an  extra  length  of  gut  or  gimp, 
ending  also  in  a  loop,  and  between  the  two  a  box-swivel, 
by  which  the  tendency  to  twist  in  spinning  is  still  further 
diminished.  In  both  cases  the  hook-swivel  receives  the 
loop  of  the  hook-length  of  gut  or  gimp  after  it  is  baited ; 
and  in  both  instances,  also,  swan-shot  or  lead,  in  some  form, 
is  required  to  sink  the  bait ;  and  it  is  attached  in  greater 
or  less  weight,  according  to  circumstances,  to  the  gimp 
close  to  the  hook-swivel. 

The  hooks  will  be  more  particularly  described  under 
each  mode  of  fishing  ;  and  for  their  application  to  the  bait 
a  needle,  called  a  baiting-needle,  is  required. 

A  landing-net  or  hook  will  be  required,  as  pickerel  are 
sometimes  of  such  a  size  as  to  demand  their  assistance. 
The  former  is  merely  a  circle  of  iron,  either  plain  or 


BAIT-FISHING.  417 

jointed,  with  a  handle  which  may  be  made  to  take  on  and 
off  for  the  sake  of  convenience;  and  armed  with  a  deep 
net,  which  receives  the  fish.  The  hook  is  intended  to 
supply  the  place  of  the  net,  but  is  a  clumsy  substitute. 

The  baits  used  for  pickerel  are  exceedingly  various,  reach- 
ing from  the  common  lob-worm  and  ordinary  hook — which 
will  often  take  the  small-sized  fish  —  through  all  the 
degrees  of  live  minnows  and  other  fish,  as  well  as  frogs 
and  newts,  dead  minnows  and  shiners,  artificial  minnows 
and  shiners,  and  even  the  artificial  fly.  These  various 
baits  are  used  also  in  almost  as  many  different  ways,  of 
which  three  have  been  already  described  in  the  list  of 
baits,  under  the  heads  of  "  The  live  Minnow-bait,"  "  The 
Spinning-minnow,''  and  the  "Gorge-hook  bait."  But  be- 
sides these,  the  snap-hook  bait  is  employed  at  those  times 
when  pickerel  are  shy  of  gorging,  and  inclined  to  eject  the 
bait,  or  blow  it  out,  as  the  angler  denominates  this  act.  The 
snap-hook  is  either  the  plain  or  the  spring  snap-hook,  and 
they  are  both  used  for  live,  as  well  as  dead  fish  baits ; 
though  the  spring  snap-hook  is  very  apt  to  destroy  the 
life  of  the  fish  very  rapidly,  and  is  a  very  cruel  mode  of 
baiting.  The  plain  snap  is  made  in  several  ways  as 
follows  : — First  plan — two  hooks,  Xo.  4,  should  be  tied  back 
to  back,  then  to  these  tie  another  smaller  hook,  No.  8, 
together  with  a  piece  of  wire  ending  in  an  eye.  To  the 
eye  is  whipped  a  piece  of  gimp,  and  the  other  end  of  this 
has  a  loop  by  which  it  is  attached  to  the  hook-swivel  in 
the  usual  way.  In  fixing  on  the  bait  proceed  as  follows  : 
Take  a  good  sized  shiner,  or  small  roach,  or  a  perch 
with  the  back  fin  removed,  arm  the  gimp  with  a  baiting- 
18* 


418  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

needle  and  insert  it  behind  the  back  fin,  bringing  it  out 
again  at  the  mouth  and  drawing  the  gimp  after  it,  so  that 
the  short  hook  stands  with  the  point  rising  out  of  the  back, 
and  the  others  are  one  on  each  side  the  belly ;  this  bait 
ought  to  spin  well.  Second  plan — exactly  similar  to  the 
mode  recommended  by  Mr.  Stoddart  of  applying  three 
hooks  to  the  parr-tail,  only  that  in  England  it  is  used  with 
a  whole  fish,  and  the  hooks  point  towards  the  head.  Mr. 
Stoddart's  plan  is  no  doubt  the  best,  and  with  a  tail  of 
the  roach,  dace,  or  perch,  is  admirably  adapted  to  pickerel- 
fishing.  Third  plan — in  this  mode  four  hooks  are  used, 
which  are  separately  whipped  on  to  two  pieces  of  gimp, 
looped  at  the  other  ends ;  one  about  three  quarters  of  an 
inch  in  length,  the  other  about  three  times  as  long.  After 
arming  them  with  the  baiting-needle,  they  are  each  passed 
through  the  fish,  the  short  one  at  the  shoulder,  the  other 
near  the  tail,  and  both  the  loops  being  brought  out  at  the 
mouth  are  attached  to  a  hook-swivel,  after  which  the  mouth 
is  sewn  up  and  the  bait  is  finished  and  ready  for  use,  though 
sometimes,  in  addition,  a  leaden  weight  is  sewn  up  in  the 
mouth  to  sink  the  bait.  The  spring-snap  bait  is  a  more 
complicated  machine,  and  is  composed  of  a  case  which 
connects  and  keeps  in  place  the  shanks  of  the  hooks,  which, 
when  in  the  case,  resemble  the  common  snap-hook,  but 
which,  when  drawn  out,  expand  by  their  own  elasticity, 
and  strike  the  fish  in  the  act  of  so  doing.  This  is 
sometimes  applied  to  a  live  fish,  but  usually  to  a  dead 
roach  or  shiner,  or  to  a  small  bream.  The  bait  should 
be  about  six  ounces  in  weight,  for  a  smaller  one  will  not 
effectually  conceal  the  hooks.  In  baiting  the  hooks,  insert 


BAIT-FISHING.  419 

the  small  hook  in  the  back  of  the  fish,  near  the  back  fin, 
taking  a  good  hold  of  the  flesh,  and  allowing  the  point  to 
project  a  little  way  out  of  the  skin,  and  the  other  two 
hooks  to  lie  one  on  each  side  of  the  belly.  The  mode  in 
which  this  acts  is  as  follows  :  As  soon  as  the  pickerel  seizes 
the  fish  in  its  mouth,  he  pulls  slightly  on  the  line,  which 
causes  the  angler  to  strike,  and  this  action  draws  the  case 
from  the  shanks  of  the  hooks  and  allows  them  to  expand 
themselves,  and  thus  prevent  the  pickerel  from  blowing  the 
bait  out  of  his  mouth. 

Pickerel  are  in  season  from  May  to  February,  but  the 
best  time  for  the  sport  of  taking  them  with  the  hook  is  the 
period  immediately  before  the  weeds  shoot,  and  again  in 
October  when  they  have  rotted.  The  latter  is  the  true 
pickerel  season,  as  they  are  then  firm  and  fleshy,  and  also 
voracious,  so  as  to  afford  good  sport.  This  fish  is  usually 
taken  of  good  size  in  artificial  waters,  or  in  deep  alluvial 
rivers.  In  these  situations  there  are  almost  always  great 
quantities  of  weeds,  and  when  they  exist  in  full  vigor,  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  land  large  pickerel,  even  if  they  are 
hooked.  The  bait  also  can  scarcely,  at  such  times  and 
situations,  be  properly  manoeuvred ;  and  hence,  it  is  by 
common  consent  considered  that  pickerel,  though  perfectly 
edible,  should  not  be  angled  for  till  after  Michaelmas,  from 
which  time  till  February  the  water  is  in  good  order  for 
their  capture.  This  rule  applies  only  to  weedy  streams. 

The  mode  of  fishing  for  pickerel  varies  with  the  particu- 
lar hook  and  bait  employed.  If  the  live  bait  is  used  with  the 
ordinary  hook,  it  can  only  be  successful  at  times  when  the 
fish  are  voracious  and  ready  for  any  bait,  which,  indeed, 


420  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

they  often  are.  If  this  happens  to  be  the  case,  the  bait 
must  be  gently  passed  into  the  water,  and  will  be  more 
easily  managed  with  a  float,  as  with  the  length  of  line  re- 
quired in  pickerel-fishing  it  is  impossible  otherwise  to  main- 
tain a  proper  depth  for  the  bait,  which  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  be  made  to  swim  at  mid-water.  This  is  effected 
by  the  float  keeping  the  bait  up,  and  the  shotted  line  pre- 
venting its  rising  to  the  surface.  If  the  bait  seeks  the 
weeds  or  other  shelter  it  must  be  stopped,  and  if  dull  and 
sluggish,  it  must  be  stimulated  by  a  gentle  shaking  of  the 
rod.  When  removing  the  bait  for  a  fresh  throw,  great 
care  should  be  taken  to  do  this  gently,  as  a  very  little 
extra  force  will  make  a  great  difference  in  the  duration  of 
the  life  of  the  fish ;  and  not  only  so,  but  the  gentle  mode 
will  give  the  bait  less  pain  than  any  other.  The  use  of 
live  baits  is  always  more  or  less  cruel,  and  surely  every 
unnecessary  degree  of  pain  should  be  avoided.  When  the 
bait  is  seized  by  the  pickerel,  which  may  be  known  by  the 
float  disappearing  under  the  water,  be  very  careful  to  allow 
him  to  carry  it  off  without  restraint,  and  for  this  purpose 
draw  off  the  line  with  the  hand,  and  let  it  run  loosely 
through  the  rings.  If  the  slightest  impediment  occurs  he 
will  be  sure  to  blow  it  out,  and  your  hopes  are  blasted. 
After  a  short  time,  during  which  he  has  been  quietly 
gorging  the  bait,  he  will  again  move  off,  and  then  is  the 
time  to  strike,  which  you  may  do  sharply,  but  not  roughly. 
If  this  is  cleverly  done,  the  fish  is  firmly  attached  to  the 
line,  which,  if  of  good  materials  and  the  hooks  equally 
efficient,  will  land  your  fish  for  you  with  the  aid  of  a  little 
skilful  management.  Pickerel  may  be  played  with  great 


BAIT-FISHING.  421 

advantage,  and  a  considerable  increase  to  the  interest  of 
the  sport.  The  principle  consists  in  yielding  to  him  for  a 
time,  by  letting  out  the  line  as  far  as  is  prudent,  and  the 
absence  of  weeds,  &c.,  will  allow ;  and  when  otherwise, 
making  the  elastic  power  of  the  rod  withstand  his  progress 
by  advancing  the  butt.  In  this  way  he  will  at  last  be 
tired  out,  and  may  then  be  landed  with  safety  by  means 
of  the  landing-net. 

The  snap-bait  is  employed  only  when  the  fish  are  wary 
and  inclined  to  eject  the  ordinary  kind,  and  it  is  used  as 
follows: — I  have  already  (on  pages  417-18)  described  the 
mode  of  arming  the  hook  with  the  bait,  and  also  the  pecu- 
liarly short  and  stiff  top  to  the  rod  which  is  required. 
This  last  is  necessary  in  order  to  give  increased  quickness 
to  the  stroke.  The  chief  difference  in  this  mode  from 
that  last  described  consists  in  the  striking,  which  should 
be  done  the  moment  the  pickerel  seizes  the  bait,  when,  if 
successful,  he  may  be  landed  or  played  according  to  circum- 
stances, as  before  described,  or  if  not  too  large,  pulled  out 
at  once  over  the  shoulder.  Trolling,  however,  by  means 
of  the  gorge-hook,  is  the  most  common  mode  of  taking 
pickerel,  and  is  also  the  most  sportsmanlike,  inasmuch  as  it 
is  deprived  of  the  stain  of  cruelty  which  attends  upon  live- 
bait  fishing.  It  requires,  as  I  have  already  observed,  the 
full-sized  trolling-rod,  with  long  and  strong  line,  a  good- 
sized  reel,  free  from  multipliers,  and  all  the  apparatus 
peculiar  to  the  gorge-hook — viz.,  cork-float,  swivel-traces, 
gorge-hooks,  and  bait.  When  these  are  all  artistically 
adjusted,  the  bait  must  be  mano3uvred  in  the  manner 
already  described  for  perch,  and  it  will  generally  be 


4:22  MANUAL,  FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

successful  where  good  fish  abound,  and  the  fishing  for 
them  is  attempted  at  the  proper  season.  The  butt  of  the 
rod  should  be  rested  against  the  thigh  or  groin,  and  it 
should  be  grasped  by  the  hand  about  18  inches  higher  up, 
which  will  give  the  angler  great  power  over  his  rod,  and 
also  leave  the  left  hand  at  liberty  to  manage  the  line,  a 
loop  or  two  of  which  should  be  held  in  that  hand,  ready  to 
"  pay  out,"  as  the  sailors  say,  when  the  bait  is  cast.  When 
a  pickerel  has  seized  the  bait,  wait  patiently,  as  already 
recommended,  and  the  average  time  necessary  for  this 
exercise  of  patience  will  be  about  six  minutes  ;  then  strike, 
and  play,  or  not,  as  before  mentioned. 

In  removing  the  bait  from  the  mouth  of  the  pickerel 
after  landing  him,  be  careful  of  his  jaws  and  teeth,  which 
sometimes  inflict  severe  wounds.  The  first  thing  to  be  done 
is  to  knock  him  on  the  head,  which  will  enable  you  to 
recover  your  hooks  and  gimp  at  your  leisure,  whereas  by 
attempting,  by  means  of  the  disgorger,  to  remove  them 
while  he  is  alive,  great  risk  is  incurred  not  only  to  them, 
but  to  your  own  fingers.  After  he  is  quite  dead,  open  the 
mouth,  and  if  the  bait  is  still  there,  after  propping  the 
mouth  open,  liberate  the  hooks  with  the  knife,  and  remove 
the  bait ;  but  if  this  has  been  swallowed,  make  an  incision 
into  the  stomach,  and  remove  them  through  it.  Very 
often  the  process  is  a  delicate  and  tedious  one,  and  many 
fish  will  require  to  be  slit  open  from  the  mouth  to  the 
stomach  before  the  hooks  can  be  removed.  An  implement 
called  the  spoon  is  sold  at  all  tackle  shops,  which  super- 
sedes the  use  of  bait,  but  it  is  so  deadly  that  it  is  held  by 
sportsmen  mere  poaching  to  use  it. 


BAIT-FISHING.  423 

BASS-FISHING. 

All  the  varieties  of  bass  may  be  taken  either  by  fly- 
fishing, or  trolling,  and  also  by  bottom-fishing  with  live 
bait,  dead  bait,  or  various  pastes. 

The  striped  bass  in  sea-ways  is  ordinarily  taken, 
either  by  squidding  with  a  bright  piece  of  bone  ivory  or 
tin  provided  with  hooks,  or  with  the  real  squid  on  a  drop- 
line. 

He  will  rise  freely  in  swift  clear  rivers  above  the  influ- 
ence of  tide  to  a  large  gaudy  salmon-fly,  and  must  be 
fished  for,  precisely  as  the  salmon,  with  a  two-headed  rod 
and  salmon  tackle.  Being  a  bold  strong  fish,  he  fights 
hard,  and  requires  skill  and  patience  to  land  him 

He  may  also  be  trolled  for  successfully  with  dead  bait, 
or  spinning  tackle,  as  the  pickerel,  or  taken  at  the  bottom 
with  crab  or  shrimp.  In  the  spring,  and  in  rivers  where 
shad  run,  there  is  no  more  killing  bait  than  shad  roe,  pre- 
pared as  described  above. 

The  black  bass  and  rock  bass  of  the  lakes  will  rise 
freely  and  afford  good  sport  to  a  large  fly  made  of  scarlet 
ibis  and  silver  pheasant  feathers,  four  wings,  two  of  each, 
with  a  body  of  scarlet  chenil.  They  can  also  be  trolled 
for  successfully,  as  described  above,  or  taken  with  a  live 
bait  on  roving  tackle,  or  with  the  deadly  spoon.  For  the 
rock  bass,  the  growler,  and  the  pike  perch,  which  two 
latter-named  fish  are  taken  precisely  in  the  same  manner, 
except  that  they  will  not  rise  to  the  fly,  the  common  craw- 
fish of  the  western  waters,  Astacus  £artoni,  is  a  favorite 
and  killing  bait. 


424:  MANUAL    FOB   YOUNG    6POKTSMEN. 


EEL-FISHING. 

The  apparatus  which  is  used  for  taking  eels  is  exceed- 
ingly various,  inasmuch  as  almost  every  kind  of  hook  is 
occasionally  adopted.  Some  of  the  different  modes  and 
tackle  have  been  already  described,  such  as  the  ledger-line, 
the  common  drop-line,  the  ordinary  float-angling,  &c. 
These  may  be  used  with  eel-hooks  and  strong  tackle  ;  and 
the  eel  should  be  landed  as  quickly  as  possible  after  he  is 
hooked,  for  the  reason  that  he  is  otherwise  sure  to  coil 
himself  round  some  weed  or  pile,  or  other  fixed  object,  and 
so  set  at  defiance  the  efforts  of  the  angler.  Usually,  how- 
ever, these  fish  are  taken  at  night,  and  the  ledger-line 
answers  very  well  for  that  purpose,  the  hook  being  mount- 
ed on  strong  whipcord  or  on  gimp.  The  regular  night 
line  consists  of  a  long  and  tolerably  stout  cord,  to  each 
end  of  which  a  brick  or  stone  is  attached  weighing  three 
or  four  pounds.  At  intervals  of  two  or  three  feet  a  piece 
of  whipcord  or  gimp  18  inches  long  should  be  firmly  tied, 
and  armed  with  an  ordinary  eel-hook.  When  all  are 
baited,  drop  one  brick  or  stone  gently  into  the  water,  then, 


BAIT-FISHING.  425 

with  a  long  pole  or  a  boat,  drop  the  other  at  the  full  length 
of  the  line,  and  leave  the  whole  apparatus  sunk  till  the 
next  morning,  when  at  early  dawn  they  may  be  taken  up 
again  with  a  boat-hook,  and  the  eels,  if  caught,  removed. 
They  should  be  set  the  last  thing  at  night,  that  the  bait 
may  be  fresh,  and  taken  up  at  very  early  dawn. 

Bobbing  for  eels  is  practised  with  a  common  darning- 
needle  and  worsted,  several  lengths  of  which  are  strung 
with  worms,  and  then,  after  being  gathered  into  loops, 
they  are  united  by  a  strong  line  to  a  piece  of  lead  weigh- 
ing nearly  a  pound,  and  pierced  with  a  hole  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attachment  to  the  line.  The  eels  are  taken  by 
their  teeth  catching  in  the  worsted. 

Trimmers  are  set  for  eels  exactly  as  for  pickerel,  ex- 
cept that  the  hooks  should  be  eel-hooks. 

Sniggling  is  another  mode  of  taking  eels,  which  is  car- 
ried on  during  the  day,  and  the  apparatus  consists  in  a 
strong  needle  about  two  inches  long,  a  stout  whipcord- 
line,  which  is  whipped  to  the  needle  from  the  eye  to  the 
middle,  from  which  part  it  is  suspended,  and  a  short  rod 
with  a  notch  at  the  end,  and  capable  of  being  set  at  any 
angle  or  curve,  for  which  purpose  it  is  either  made  of 
flexible  wire  or  with  hinged  joints.  The  needle  is  baited 
with  the  worm,  which  is  drawn  over  both  needle  and  line, 
and  when  the  angler  strikes,  he  fixes  the  needle  across  the 
eel's  throat. 

The  eel-spear  is  the  most  common  of  all  the  implements 
used  in  taking  eels ;  but  as  it  requires  very  little  art,  it  is 
scarcely  fitted  for  the  sportsman's  use,  and  is  solely  intend- 
ed to  be  employed  by  those  who  take  fish  for  profit.  But 


426  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

the  great  bulk  of  the  eels  caught  in  this  country  are  taken 
in  traps  set  in  the  weirs  of  the  rivers,  when  they  run  in 
the  floods  which  are  so  constantly  occurring. 

The  best  baits  for  eels  are  either  live  fish  or  lob- 
worms. Dead  bait  are  not  so  readily  taken,  as  there  is  no 
means  during  the  night  of  simulating  the  motions  of  the 
living  fish,  as  can  be  done  with  perch,  trout,  and  pickerel, 
which  take  their  food  by  day.  Lob- worms,  therefore,  as 
being  the  most  readily  procured,  and  remaining  alive  on 
the  hook  for  a  considerable  time,  are  the  most  common 
bait.  The  lampern  is  used  in  those  rivers  where  it  is  met 
with,  and  is  a  very  deadly  bait.  It  requires  care  in  its 
application  not  to  injure  the  nine-eyes  or  gills,  for  if  they 
are  destroyed,  the  fish  soon  dies,  and  lies  motionless  and 
unattractive.  The  hook,  therefore,  should  be  entered 
below  them,  leaving  the  head  and  these  openings  hanging 
free.  It  is  too  large  a  bait  for  any  but  full-sized  eels,  as 
the  small  ones  pull  off  the  pendant  portions  without  hook- 
ing themselves. 

Eels  may  be  taken  during  the  spring,  summer,  and 
autumn.  They  haunt  the  recesses  of  the  banks,  or  lie  in 
the  mud  and  weeds  during  the  day,  leaving  these  places 
only  at  night  for  food.  Ponds,  canals,  and  alluvial  -"rivers 
are  the  chief  localities  for  this  fish,  but  few  rivers  are 
totally  free  from  them.  In  some,  however,  they  abso- 
lutely swarm,  and  even  in  small  brooks  they  may  be  taken 
in  quantities  amounting  to  many  hundredweight  during 
their  runs  or  migrations. 

The  modes  of  taking  these  fish  vary  with  the  apparatus 
employed.  During  the  day,  sniggling,  bobbing,  or  ledger- 


BAIT-FISHING.  427 

line  fishing  will  be  the  most  successful.  The  first  is  prac- 
tised as  follows  : — Take  the  needle,  armed  and  suspended 
as  already  described,  and  draw  on  it  a  large  lob-worm  in 
the  following  manner.  Enter  the  eye  of  the  needle  at  the 
head  of  the  worm,  and  run  it  down  till  the  whole  needle  is 
covered  except  the  point,  which  is  inserted  in  the  notch 
or  slit  at  the  end  of  the  rod,  leaving  the  worm  free.  In 
this  way  the  head  of  the  worm  is  presented  to  the  eel,  and 
is  conducted  into  his  hole  or  haunt  by  the  bent  end  of  the 
rod.  As  this  end  can  be  set  at  any  angle,  it  may  be  guid- 
ed round  stumps  or  stones,  and  when  it  is  gently  insinuat- 
ed as  far  as  it  will  go,  it  is  quietly  left  there.  The  line 
attached  to  the  hook  is  held  in  the  left  hand,  and  as  soon 
as  the  fish  seizes  the  bait  and  has  drawn  it  out  of  the  cleft 
stick,  slacken  the  line,  and  gently  withdraw  the  stick  ; 
give  a  little  time  for  the  eel  to  swallow  the  bait,  and  then 
strike,  when  the  needle  will  cross  his  throat,  and  hold  him 
securely.  Do  not  attempt  at  once  to  draw  him  out,  but 
let  him  tire  himself  first,  and  when  he  is  exhausted,  pull 
him  out.  Bobbing  is  practised  with  the  worms  strung  on 
worsted,  as  already  described,  and  gathered  up  in  links, 
which  are  to  be  attached  to  a  line  of  whipcord  about  two 
yards  long,  having  a  knot  on  it  eight  or  ten  inches  from 
the  worms,  and  the  lead  slipped  down  to  that  point. 
When  the  eels  bite,  their  teeth  stick  in  the  worsted,  and 
they  may  be  gently  pulled  out  before  they  disentangle 
them.  This  mode  I  have  never  seen  practised,  and  I 
have  great  doubts  of  its  efficiency  with  any  but  small  eels. 
Boys,  however,  there  is  no  doubt  do  thus  succeed  in  taking 
large  numbers  of  these.  For  the  purpose  of  taking  eels  by 


428  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

night,  the  trimmers  may  be  set  as  for  pickerel,  or  the  night- 
line  as  described  above. 


BOTTOM  FISHING  FOR  COMMON  TROUT,  LAKE  TROUT, 
AND  SEA  TROUT. 

The  bottom-rod  for  trouting  should  be  at  least  17  feet 
long,  and  should  be,  in  fact,  similar  to  that  described  above 
as  the  trolling-rod  for  pickerel.  An  ordinary  trouting- 
reel  and  reel  line  are  sufficient  for  the  purpose ;  and  the 
casting  line  should  have  six  lengths  of  good  single  gut, 
slightly  stained  with  brown  or  brownish  green  by  means 
of  common  black  or  green  tea.  No  silk  should  be  used  at 
the  knots,  but  the  simple  angler's  knot  should  be  employed. 
The  hook  for  trout  best  adapted  for  the  worm  is  No.  3  or 
4,  and  for  the  minnow,  according  to  the  kind  of  fishing 
adopted.  When  the  hook  is  intended  for  the  worm,  it 
ought  to  be  whipped  on  to  the  gut  with  crimson  silk,  as  the 
dark  silk  usually  employed  alters  the  color  of  the  trans- 
parent worm,  and  deters  the  trout  from  taking  the  bait. 
Shot,  or  lead  in  some  form,  is  required,  in  order  to  sink 
the  bait,  and  its  weight  should  depend  upon  the  strength 
of  the  current.  Swan-shot  answers  best  for  this  purpose, 
and,  more  or  less,  must  be  applied  at  the  discretion  of  the 
angler,  when  by  the  water-side  he  ascertains  the  rate  of 
the  current.  A  float  will  sometimes,  though  not  always, 
be  needful,  and  may  be  either  of  cork  or  swan-quill,  the 
latter  being  to  be  preferred.  The  hooks  for  spinning- 
tackle  are  similar  to  those  described  at  page  390,  and  the 
gorge-hook  will  be  found  treated  of  at  page  392. 


BAIT-FISHING.  429 

The  baits  for  trout  used  in  bottom-fishing  are  chiefly 
worms  and  minnows,  the  latter  either  natural  or  artificial. 
Caddises,  however,  and  caterpillars,  with  gentles  and 
salmon-roe,  are  in  some  localities  much  prized.  The 
worms  which  are  the  best  for  trout-fishing  are  the  marsh- 
worm,  the  button-worm,  and  the  brandling ;  the  last  being 
chiefly  adapted  to  the  smaller  sizes  of  fish.  They  should 
be  well  scoured,  and  applied  as  follows  : — Six  or  eight 
dozen  worms  will  in  all  probability  be  required  in  a  good 
day's  fishing,  and  should  be  carried  in  some  damp  moss  in 
an  appropriate  bait-box,  or  canvas  bag.  In  putting  the 
worms  on  the  hook,  take  the  latter  in  the  right  hand, 
between  the  finger  and  thumb,  then  taking  a  worm  in 
the  left  finger  and  thumb,  insert  the  point  of  the  hook 
near  the  head  of  the  worm,  and  run  it  along  its  body 
until  the  whole  of  the  hook  is  concealed,  and  also  a  very 
short  portion  of  the  gut ;  in  doing  this,  great  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  expose  any  part  of  the  hook,  and  espe- 
cially the  barb,  which  should  not  on  any  account  penetrate 
the  side  of  the  worm.  If  the  worm  is  too  small  to  con- 
ceal this  quantity  of  the  hook  and  line,  and  also  to  leave 
a  portion,  at  least  an  inch  long,  hanging  free  from  the  end, 
two  may  be  applied  ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  too  long, 
the  barbed  end  may  be  brought  through  and  re-entered  an 
inch  or  so  lower  down,  so  as  to  pucker  up  a  coil  of  the 
worm's  length,  which  adds  to  its  allurement,  and  at  the 
same  time  prevents  too  long  a  free  portion  from  hanging 
from  the  end.  The  worm  is  thus  injured  as  little  as  possi- 
ble, and  will  live  a  considerable  time  if  not  roughly  used 
in  the  water.  It  should  be  examined  every  now  and 


430  MANUAL    FOR    YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

then  to  see  that  it  is  not  broken.  Grubs,  caterpillars,  and 
gentles  applied  two  or  three  at  a  time  on  the  hooks — tir.<t 
one  lengthwise,  then  one  obliquely,  so  as  to  leave  each  end 
free,  and  finally  one  lengthwise  to  conceal  the  barb.  The 
mode  of  applying  the  dead  minnow  and  parr-tail  has  been 
described  under  the  head  of  "  Baits,"  as  well  as  the  other 
ordinary  methods  of  baiting  the  gorge-hook  and  the  live 
minnow-tackle. 

The  artificial  minnow,  in  all  its  varieties,  may  be  tried, 
and  in  some  rivers  and  states  of  water  will  do  great  execu- 
tion. In  none,  however,  will  it  take  equally  well  with  a  good 
and  well-baited  real  minnow  ;  and  if  these  can  be  obtained, 
it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  take  fish  with  an  inferior  article. 
The  devil-bait  is  also  sometimes  successful  5  indeed  trout 
are  so  capricious,  that  it  is  difficult  at  all  times  to  say 
beforehand  what  they  will  take,  and  what  refuse.  I  have 
already  mentioned  and  described  Mr.  Blacker's  modifica- 
tion of  this  bait. 

The  common  trout  is  found  in  almost  all  the  clear,  gra- 
velly, and  quick  running  streams  throughout  the  Northern 
and  Middle  States,  and  sometimes,  though  not  in  the  same 
perfection,  in  streams  of  an  opposite  charater.  They  spawn 
in  the  autumn,  the  exact  time  varying  in  different  localities ; 
and  they  come  into  season  in  the  spring,  when,  also,  their 
time  of  perfection  will  be  early  or  late,  in  accordance  with 
the  nature  of  their  habitat.  A  low  temperature  seems 
rather  to  accelerate  than  retard  their  condition.  After 
August,  trout  are  not  fit  for  the  sport,  being  full  of  roe,  or 
else  spent  from  the  operation  of  spawning.  For  bottom- 
fishing,  the  deeper  and  stiller  parts  of  the  stream  answer 


BAIT-FISHING. 

better  than  the  very  rough  freshes,  though  even  for  this 
kiiid  of  fishiug  perfectly  still  water  is  not  so  well  calcu- 
lated as  that  rate  of  stream,  which  will  move  the  bait 
without  destroying  its  form  or  texture. 

The  various  modes  of  taking  trout  will  be  now  entered 
upon.  First,  fishing  with  the  worm  is  practised  by 
obtaining  all  the  apparatus  and  bait  described  above ;  the 
angler  then,  with  his  wading-boots  on,  if  he  uses  them, 
quietly  wades  into  a  part  of  the  river  which  will  command 
an  extensive  sweep  of  likely  water;  or,  if  preferring 
terra  Jirma,  he  keeps  as  much  as  possible  out  of  sight  of 
the  fish  upon  a  part  of  the  bank  suitable  for  his  purpose, 
and  below  the  water  to  be  fished.  It  must  be  known, 
that  the  worm  should  in  all  cases  be  cast  up  stream,  and 
suffered  to  float  down  again,  for  reasons  which  will  be 
clear  enough  when  explained,  as  follows : — first,  the  trout 
always  lie  head  up  stream,  and  therefore  do  not  see  the 
angler  so  well  below  them  as  above ;  secondly,  the  bait 
floats  gently  down  without  injury,  which  must  be  done  to 
it  if  dragged  against  stream ;  thirdly,  in  hooking  the  fish, 
the  barb  is  much  more  likely  to  lay  hold  in  this  way  than 
if  he  is  struck  in  the  line  of  the  axis  of  his  body ;  and 
fourthly,  the  water  is  not  disturbed  by  the  wader  till  it 
has  been  already  fished.  The  angler  swings  or  casts  his 
worm  gently  as  far  up-stream  as  he  can,  using  as  long  a 
Hue  as  he  can  easily  manage,  and  no  more,  and  suffering 
it  to  float  down  with  the  stream  till  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  place  were  he  is  standing,  when  it  should  be  lifted 
and  re-cast.  When  a  fish  is  felt  to  bite  or  lay  hold  of  the 
worm,  wait  a  few  seconds  till  he  has  done  nibbling,  and 


432  MANUAL   FOR  YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

the  moment  he  is  running  off  with  it  strike  it  smartly  but 
tenderly  with  the  wrist,  not  with  the  whole  power  of  the 
arm,  and  proceed  to  land  your  fish  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible. 

Grub,  caterpillars,  gentles,  &c.,  are  all  used  in  the  same 
way,  and  will  serve  the  angler  well  in  many  localities,  but 
as  a  general  bait  for  trout  they  are  not  equal  to  the  worm. 
Fishing  with  the  salmon-roe  will  be  found  more  particularly 
described  at  the  end  of  this  section. 

In  using  the  live  bait,  the  hook,  of  size  No.  3,  should 
be  entered  at  the  back-fin,  and  the  barb  should  stand  up 
a  little  above  the  surface ;  the  line  then  being  shotted, 
and  a  swan-quill  float  applied  at  about  three  feet  from  the 
hook,  the  bait  is  suffered  to  swim  about  in  any  direction 
but  that  of  weeds,  or  other  dangerous  spots  in  the  bed  of 
the  river.  As,  however,  trout  are  chiefly  found  in  strong 
running  streams,  and  as  in  such  situations  some  force  must 
be  exerted  upon  the  minnow  in  keeping  it  from  running 
with  the  stream,  its  life  is  soon  destroyed,  and  therefore 
the  live  minnow  is  not  so  well  adapted  for  trout-fishing  as 
for  perch  or  pickerel. 

The  dead  minnow  used  with  spinning-tackle,  according 
to  one  or  other  of  the  modes  recommended  at  page  389,  is 
most  suited  for  taking  large  trout ;  and  the  precise  style 
of  fishing  with  these  baits  is  as  follows : — but  the  angler 
should  understand  that  the  principle  on  which  he  conducts 
his  operations  is  not  that  of  a  slavish  imitation  of  the  mo- 
tions of  the  natural  live  minnow,  such  as  will  answer,  to  a 
certain  extent,  with  the  pickerel  and  perch,  which  are  less 
wary  than  the  trout,  but  rather  to  produce  such  a  quick  and 


BAIT-FISHING.  433 

constant  spin  of  the  bait  as  shall  conceal  the  hooks  from 
the  fish  to  be  caught.  The  principal  point,  therefore,  is 
to  fix  the  bait  on  the  hooks  so  as  to  spin  well,  and  to  last 
in  this  state  a  long  time ;  and  thus  to  avoid  as  much  as 
possible  the  renewing  of  the  bait,  by  which  time  is  lost, 
and  generally  just  at  the  most  valuable  period  of  the  day. 
No  bait  comes  so  near  perfection  in  these  several  points  as 
the  parr-tail,  and  it  will,  I  am  persuaded,  as  far  as  a  limited 
trial  will  allow  of  an  opinion,  be  found  to  be  better 
suited  than  any  other  to  spinning  for  trout,  in  all  streams 
where  the  current  is  strong.  I  have  already  remarked 
that  shiners,  or  other  fish  of  the  same  size,  in  the  absence 
of  the  parr,  will  be  large  enough  for  this  purpose.  When 
the  bait  is  properly  applied,  according  to  the  mode  recom- 
mended at  page  391,  the  line  should  be  cast  as  gently  as  pos- 
sible by  means  of  the  trolling-rod,  taking  care  not  to  injure 
the  texture  of  the  fish-bait  by  jerking  it  violently,  and 
therefore  avoiding  too  long  a  line  and  too  forcible  a  throw. 
Underhand  casting  does  less  damage  than  when  the  bait 
is  thrown  overhand,  and  by  its  adoption  the  splash  in  its 
fall  into  the  water  is  also  much  less  considerable.  In 
working  the  bait,  every  thing  depends  upon  the  strength  of 
the  stream ;  but  the  rule  always  is  to  make  the  minnow 
spin  as  fast  as  possible  without  injury  to  its  texture. 
Thus,  when  it  is  drawn  against  the  stream,  it  may  be 
steadily  brought  towards  the  hand  and  made  to  revolve 
chiefly  by  the  action  of  the  current.  If,  however,  it  is 
drawn  down  stream,  a  series  of  jerks  must  be  given,  or  it 
will  not  spin  sufficiently  fast ;  and  yet,  if  the  pull  is  main- 
tained so  as  to  keep  up  the  spinning  at  the  same  rate 
19 


434  MANUAL   FOB   TOTING   SPORTSMEN. 

throughout,  the  casting-line  itself  makes  a  very  prominent 
ripple,  and  by  the  overdoing  of  the  attempt  serves  to  scare 
away  the  fish.  The  line  should  always  be  well  shotted,  as 
the  minnow  will  otherwise  rise  too  near  the  surface,  and 
no  float  will  be  required,  inasmuch  as  the  bait  is  always  at 
the  end  of  a  "  taut"  line.  Mr.  Stoddart  also  recommends 
the  adoption  of  a  plain  hook,  baited  with  a  minnow  as 
when  using  a  worm,  running  it  in  at  the  tail  and  bringing 
it  out  at  the  mouth ;  after  which  he  hitches  the  gut  over 
the  tail  to  suit  the  bait  in  its  proper  position.  With  this 
he  fishes  as  with  a  worm  in  low  and  clear  states  of  the 
water ;  but  as  I  have  never  seen  this  bait  used,  I  cannot 
speak  as  to  its  efficiency.  It  is  exactly  the  reverse  of  Izaak 
Walton's  mode  of  entering  the  hook,  and,  according  to 
Mr.  Stoddart's  practice  and  theory,  is  much  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  it.  Colonel  Hawker's  mode  of  baiting  the  hook, 
with  the  addition  of  side  hooks,  is  used  in  the  same  way 
as  ordinary  spinning-tackle,  and  the  minnow  baited  as  he 
recommends  will  be  found  tolerably  serviceable.  It  is 
merely  the  addition  of  the  side  hooks  to  Izaak  Walton's 
method  of  applying  the  hook,  which  has  the  objection  of 
offering  the  wrong  end  to  the  trout,  having  the  barb  at 
the  tail  instead  of  the  head.  It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder 
that  trout  so  often  are  missed  when  rushing  at  it,  since 
they  almost  invariably  endeavor  to  seize  the  head.  This 
is  the  case  with  most  predacious  animals,  which  are 
instinctively  made  aware  that  this  part  is  the  most  vital 
organ,  and  they  almost  always  begin  by  eating  the  brain 
where  such  an  organ  exists.  When  fishing  with  the  min- 
now well  leaded  and  in  deep  water,  the  angler  seldom  sees 


BAIT-FISHING.  4:35 

the  trout  rush  at  his  bait,  but  is  warned  by  the  sense  of 
touch,  rather  than  by  his  eyes,  that  the  trout  is  at  it. 
At  this  moment  the  angler  slackens  his  line  gently  for  a 
couple  of  seconds,  and  then  strikes  with  his  wrist,  using 
only  a  slight  jerk.  The  trout  is  now  either  hooked  or 
alarmed,  but  generally  the  former  is  the  case,  unless  he  is 
a  very  shy,  wary  old  fox  ;  in  which  case  he  is  not  likely  to 
be  again  tempted  on  that  day.  If,  however,  the  trout  is 
seen  approaching  the  minnow,  the  angler  ought  to  en- 
deavor, as  far  as  his  nerves  will  allow  him,  to  continue  the 
precise  kind  of  motion  which  attracted  the  fish,  until  he 
not  only  sees  him  at  the  bait,  but  feels  his  pull,  when  he 
should  proceed  exactly  as  if  all  was  out  of  sight.  This, 
however,  is  a  difficult  task,  and  few  young  fishermen  have 
sufficient  command  over  themselves  to  avoid  the  mistake 
to  which  their  attention  is  here  directed.  Every  one  who 
has  hooked  fish  of  any  size  with  fine  tackle,  must  be  aware 
how  difficult  it  is,  when  commencing  trout-fishing,  to  carry 
out  in  pactice  the  theory  which  he  has  been  endeavoring  to 
realize  for  some  time  past ;  and  each,  in  his  turn,  must 
have  been  made  painfully  conscious  of  the  danger  not  only 
of  striking  too  soon  and  too  hard,  but  of  attempting  to 
land  a  large  fish  with  fine  gut  before  he  is  tired. 

TROLLING  FOR  LAKE  TROUT. 

The  following  instructions  on  fishing  for  the  great  lake 
trout  were  furnished  for  my  work  on  Fish  and  Fishing,  by 
an  old  and  experienced  angler,  of  high  repute  for  science 
and  skill,  and  much  accustomed  to  the  lakes.  They  are 


436  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

admitted  to  be  the  best  ever  published,  and  I  have  there- 
fore no  hesitation  in  quoting  them  here  for  my  larger 
work. 

I  propose,  in  this  connection,  to  treat  of  this  fine  and 
exciting  sport,  describing 

1st,  The  rod ; 

2d,  The  reel; 

3d,  The  line ; 

4th,  The  leader,  and  train  of  hooks ; 

5th,  The  bait  and  flies  ; 

6th,  The  bait-kettle ; 

7th,  The  boat  and  oarsman,  or  guide ; 

8th,  The  manner  of  striking  the  fish,  when  the  bait  is 
taken; 

And  lastly,  9th,  How  to  play,  and  gaff  the  fish. 

1st.  THE  ROD. — A  mutual  friend,  who  writes  occasion- 
ally for  the  " Spirit"  and  who  is  a  most  skilful  troller, 
wrote  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  "  Spirit  "  in  the 
fall  of  1848,  signed  "  M.,  Maspeth,  Long  Island,"  in  which 
he  gave  a  capital  description  on  most  of  the  above  heads. 

The  trolling- rod  spoken  of  above,  on  page  380,  will 
answer  all  purposes.  But  the  gentleman  mentioned  had 
two  of  the  most  perfect  trolling- rods  I  have  seen;  :they 
were  made  by  Ben.  Welch,  of  Cherry  street,  and  are  all 
bamboo  cane.  I  had  one  made  by  George  Karr,  of  Grand 
street,  which  I  like  very  much  ;  and  I  will  describe  it  the 
best  way  I  can,  although  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  describe 
on  paper  a  rod  of  any  kind : — Length  from  eleven  to  thir- 
teen feet ;  butt  of  ash,  thoroughly  seasoned,  about  one  and 
a. .quarter  inches  in  diameter,  or  about  as  thick  as  an 


BAIT-FISHINO.  437" 

ordinary  bass-rod.  The  butt  should  be  hollow,  to  contain 
spare  tips.  The  second,  third  and  fourth  joints  should  be 
bamboo,  so  that  when  the  rod  is  put  together,  it  will  be 
about  twelve  feet. 

The  rod  should  have  two  spare  tips ;  one  should  be 
stronger  and  shorter  than  the  other,  to  vary  the  fishing 
according  to  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  circumstances. 

The  fourth,  or  last  joint  tip,  should  be  about  three  feet, 
thinner,  and  more  pliant  than  the  spare  tops  which  fit  in 
the  bored  butt.  The  first  spare  tip  should  be  two  feet 
long,  stiffer  and  stronger  than  the  original  top.  The 
second  spare  tip  should  be  about  fourteen  inches  long, 
strong  and  stiff;  and  in  heavy  weather,  this  strong,  stiff 
tip  will  be  the  one  to  use. 

Rod-making  has  been  brought  to  such  perfection,  it 
would  be  a  waste  of  time  to  give  further  instructions ; 
but  still  I  only  know  two  men  in  this  city  who  can  make  a 
true  trolling-rod,  viz.  : — Ben.  Welch,  of  Cherry  street, 
and  George  Karr,  of  Grand  street  near  Broadway. 

Rings  should  never  be  used  on  rods  of  this  character. 
The  "  railroad  "  through  which  the  line  travels,  consti- 
tutes one  of  the  peculiarities  of  this  rod.  Rings  interfere 
with,  and  impede  the  line,  and  should  not  be  used.  The 
guides  used  by  Welch  are  the  only  true  ones — they  are 
neat,  light,  with  a  thin  flat  shank,  about  one  fourth  of  an 
inch  in  length,  which  is  firmly  secured  on  the  different 
joints.  There  should  be  very  few  guides  on  the  rod — five 
I  consider  sufficient,  exclusive  of  the  metal  case  at  the  top 
of  each  tip.  This  metal  case  should  have  a  rounded  sur- 


438  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

face,  perfectly  smooth,  and  sufficiently  large  to  allow  the 
line  to  run  without  the  slightest  obstruction  or  friction. 

Let  me  give  one  hint  before  I  take  leave  of  the  rod. 
I  recommend  that  all  trolling-rods  should  have  guides  on 
both  sides — that  is,  a  guide  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
other  :  not  on  the  butt,  but  on  all  joints  from  the  butt  to 
the  end ;  and  why  ?  In  this  kind  of  fishing  there  is 
powerful  pressure  on  the  rod  ;  and  the  very  best  will,  from 
hard  work,  become  bent,  and  remain  bent,  and  thus  lose 
its  elasticity.  To  obviate  this,  turn  round  the  joints,  slip 
the  line  through  the  spare  guides,  and  in  a  few  hours  the 
rod  is  "  all  straight." 

2d.  THE  REEL.  —  To  give  an  explanation  of  this 
would  be  absurd.  I  will  simply  say,  that  No.  3  is 
about  the  proper  size  for  a  trolling-rod,  without  stop,  click, 
or  multiplier.  The  line  cannot  run  off  too  free.  According 
to  my  opinion,  John  Conroy  can  make  the  best  reel  in  the 
world. 

3d.  THE  LINE. — One  hundred  yards  is  abundant. 
Twisted  silk  is  the  best  line  for  trolling.  I  know  they 
kink,  when  new ;  but  very  little  use  will  put  an  end  to 
it — id  est,  knock  the  kink  out  of  it. 

Plaited  lines  are  very  good  and  cheap,  and  do  not 
kink;  but  they  absorb  the  water,  and  do  not  run  free 
from  the  rod. 

A  mixture  of  hair  in  lines  is  my  abomination.  It  is 
the  most  dangerous  and  uncertain  stuff  a  man  can  use. 
You  can  never  depend  on  it ;  the  hairs  will  give  way  with 
but  little  strain ;  and  when  you  hook  the  heaviest  fish,  the 
greater  danger  is  to  be  apprehended.  I  hate  them. 


BAIT-FISHING.  439 

4th.  THE  LEADER  AND  TRAIN  or  HOOKS. — This  word 
"  leader "  goes  against  my  grain.  The  old  familiar 
English-Irish  sound  of  "  casting-line,"  has  a  charm  for  my 
ear,  equalled  only  by  the  still  silent  noise  of 

"  Ballynahinch  or  Costello's  flowing  waters." 

But  let  leader  go  for  trolling. 

Most  trollers  use  twisted  gut  for  a  leader,  with  a  small 
swivel  attached  to  one  end.  The  other  end  is  fastened  to 
the  reel-line,  either  by  loop  or  knot,  but  a  knot  is  by  far 
preferable.  The  leader  should  be  two  yards  long — some 
good  and  old  hands  use  three  yards.  I  never  use  twisted 
gut.  I  prefer  a  leader  of  good  round  salmon-gut 

The  train  of  hooks  is  attached  to  the  eye  of  the 
swivel,  at  the  end  of  the  leader.  The  tram  is  made  of  five 
hooks,  and  made  on  the  very  best  and  most  perfect  gut, 
single.  The  strand  upon  which  the  hooks  are  tied,  is 
fastened  by  a  knot  to  another  equally  strong  and  perfect 
strand,  which  is  fastened  by  a  loop  to  a  swivel  at  the  end 
of  the  leader.  Thus  you  have  the  rod,  reel,  line,  leader, 
and  train  of  hooks.  Perhaps  a  sketch  of  the  train  of 
hooks  will  be  better  than  an  explanation.  Here  it  is : 


This  train,  it  will  be  seen,  is  made  of  five  hooks. 
The  lip-hook  should  be  a  size  or  two  smaller  than  the  tail- 
hooks — say  No.  5  for  the  tail,  No.  6  for  the  middle,  and 
No.  7  for  the  lip.  These  hooks  are  joined  shank  to  shank, 


440  MANUAL   FOK   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

with  the  gut  between  them,  and  then  firmly  tied  with 
waxed  silk.  But  I  procured  from  Ireland  a  set  of  hooks 
wedded  or  united  together,  and  they  are  far  superior  to 
single  hooks  joined  by  tying  together,  for  they  frequently 
double  up,  and  become  very  troublesome.  George  Karr, 
before  named,  can  rig  this  kind  of  train  better  than  any 
man  in  the  city,  as  far  as  my  experience  goes. 


5th.  THE  BAIT  AND  FLTES. — The  proper  bait  is  the 
shiner,  which  can  be  plentifully  procured  in  all  the  lakes  of 
Hamilton  County.  They  are  taken  with  the  smallest  kind 
of  hook,  Na  12,  with  worm  bait ;  and  when  secured,  are 
put  into  the  bait-kettle,  and  preserved  until  used.  The 
mode  of  putting  the  shiner  on  the  train  is  simple :  put  the 
lip  or  single  hook  through  the  lip,  the  middle  hook  in  the 
belly,  the  end  hook  in  the  tail. 

Unlike  trout-fishing  proper,  I  loop  on  my  flies  when 
trolling.  About  thirty-six  inches  from  the  shiner  I  loop 
on  the  leader — a  large  fly ;  and  thirty  inches  from  that 
fly  I  loop  a  smaller-sized  one,  and  then  I  am  rigged  to 
"throw  out." 


BAIT-FISHING. 

6th.  THE  BAIT-KETTLE. — This  is  a  most  indispensable 
article  for  the  troller — he  can't  get  along  without  it.  It 
should  be  made  of  strong  tin,  painted  green  outside  and 
white  inside.  The  bottom  should  be  wider  than  the  top, 
but  sloping  gradually.  Conroy  has  now  in  his  store  some 
very  good  and  complete  ;  but  there  is  one  great  improve- 
ment, to  have  the  handle  lie  or  fall  inside  the  lid.  I 
recommend  a  small  gauze  ladle,  with  a  short  handle,  to 
take  the  bait  from  the  kettle  when  required  ;  it  will  save 
much  trouble,  and  injury,  if  not  death,  to  the  "  dear  little 
creatures." 

The  kettle  should  be  replenished  with  water  every 
hour ;  and  one  unerring  sign  that  the  shiner  needs  fresh 
water,  is  wheq  he  pokes  his  nose  to  the  surface.  When  the 
fishing  is  over,  sink  the  kettle  in  the  shoal  water,  and 
secure  it,  so  that  it  cannot  be  tossed  about  by  "  wind  or 
weather." 

7th.  THE  BOAT  AND  OARSMAN,  OR  GUIDE. — Here  you 
must  trust  to  luck — "  first  come,  first  served."  But  any 
person  going  to  the  house  of  John  C.  Holmes,  at  Lake 
Pleasant,  will  find  good  accommodation,  and  "  honest 
John  "  will  secure  a  good  guide  and  a  good  boat ;  and 
from  experience  I  can  safely  recommend  Cowles,  Batch- 
ellor,  and  Morrell,  of  Lake  Pleasant,  as  faithful,  honest, 
persevering,  safe  and  skilful  guides  and  oarsmen.  Trolling 
is  solely  done  from  the  boat.  The  troller  with  his  face 
to  the  stern ;  the  oarsman  in  the  middle,  or  rather  near 
the  bow,  and  rows  slowly  and  gently  along  the  lake ;  about 
one  and  a  half  or  two  miles  an  hour  is  the  proper  speed. 

8th.  THE  MANNER  OF  STRIKING  THE  FISH  WHEN  THE 
19* 


442  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

BAIT  is  TAKEN. — Should  there  be  much  wind,  thirty-five 
yards  of  line  is  sufficient  to  run  out — if  calm,  say  forty-five 
or  fifty.  When  a  fish  is  felt,  the  tip  of  the  rod  should  be 
eased  off,  or  given  to  the  fish,  in  order  that  he  have  time  to 
take  hold  ;  then  give  a  good  surge  of  the  rod,  and  you  will 
rarely  miss  striking  him.  Should  you  be  fishing  with  two 
rods,  which  is  almost  always  the  case,  pass  the  other  rod  to 
the  oarsman.  Never  give  the  fish  an  inch,  unless  by  actual 
compulsion;  invariably  keep  him  in  hand — feel  him  at  a 
distance,  but  still  be  kind  and  gentle,  not  rude  or  rough. 
Do  not  show  the  gaff  until  you  know  that  the  fish  is  "  used 
up  ;  "  if  a  small  fish,  run  the  net  under  him  ;  and  if  the 
fish  is  spent  or  exhausted,  he  will  fall  into  it ;  but  if  he 
shows  life,  draw  him  over  the  net.  If  a  large  fish,  use  the 
gaff,  which  pass  under  him,  with  the  point  downwards ; 
then  turn  it  up  inside,  and  strike  as  near  the  shoulder  as 
possible.  I  say  shoulder  instead  of  tail. 

I  believe  that  I  have  now  done  with  this  branch ;  but 
let  me  say,  that  no  good  troller  uses  lead  or  sinker  of  any 
kind.  I  have  seen  it  used,  but  used  to  the  destruction  of 
sport  and  tackle.  Sinkers  carry  the  hooks  to  the  bottom, 
and  there  you  stick  either  to  root  or  rock. 

When  trolling,  you  take,  on  the  average,  more  fine 
brook  trout  than  lake  trout.  I  think  that  two  to  one 
is  correct. 

One  word  as  to  the  sporting  quality  of  the  lake 
trout.  The  nine  pound  and  a  quarter  trout,  before 
mentioned,  may  perhaps  be  an  exception ;  but  I  do  affirm, 
that  the  lake  trout  is  a  fish  of  game,  spirit,  and  en- 
durance. 


BAIT-FISHING. 


443 


I  have  killed  them  from  one  to  sixteen  and  a  half 
pounds.  The  sixteen  and  a  half  pound  lake  trout  was 
hooked  by  me,  on  a  single  gut  leader ;  from  the  time  I 
struck  him,  till  his  capture,  was  one  hour  and  forty-five 
minutes.  During  the  first  half  hour,  he  showed  great  bad 
temper,  and  kept  the  perspiration  flowing  off  my  head; 
he  did  sulk  for  half  an  hour,  but  it  was  a  moving  and  a 
dragging  sulk,  unlike  the  salmon ;  and  during  this  sulk 
he  took  me  along  the  lake  for  about  a  mile;  1  became 
fatigued,  and  bore  so  heavy  on  him  that  I  got  him  near 
the  surface,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  was  one 
continued  run  and  fight.  He  had  not  the  vivacity  of  the 
nine  and  a  quarter  pound  fish,  but  still  I  had  "  my  hands 
full,"  and  was  effectually  "  used  up  "  when  he  was  gaffed 
by  Cowles,  my  guide. 


NATUKAL  AND  ARTIFICIAL  FLY- 
FISHING. 

IN  the  chapter  on  bottom-fishing,  I  have  remarked  that 
all  fish  may  be  taken  by  that  mode ;  but  now  it  must  be 
explained,  that  the  circle  from  which  the  victims  of  the  fly- 
fisher's  art  are  to  be  selected,  is  much  more  limited.  He 
may,  however,  flatter  himself  that  all,  or  nearly  so,  of  the 
most  prized  varieties  are  included  in  his  list,  and  this  is 
the  case  not  only"  in  America  and  the  British  islands,  but 
in  almost  all  countries.  In  India,  fly-fishing  is  practised 


NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.         445 

to  a  great  extent,  and,  indeed,  wherever  the  salmonidce  are 
found,  it  may  be  freely  indulged  in. 

Natural  fly-fishing  consists  in  the  use  of  the  various 
living  flies,  grasshoppers,  &c.,  which  are  found  on  the  banka 
of  rivers  and  lakes.  It  is  practised  by  a  process  which  is 
called  dipping,  but  chiefly  in  such  situations  as  are  so 
much  overhung  with  bushes  as  to  preclude  the  use  of  the 
artificial  fly.  In  these  spots  the  water  is  generally  still, 
and  there  is  no  possibility  of  offering  the  lure  in  any  other 
position  than  a  state  of  almost  entire  quiescence.  Hence 
all  imitations  are  easily  discoverable ;  and  the  real  fly  and 
grasshopper,  &c.,  are  the  only  surface-baits  which  the  fish 
will  take. 

Artificial  fly-fishing,  on  the  other  hand,  consists  in  the 
use  of  imitations  of  these  flies,  and  also  of  other  fancy  flies, 
by  means  of  an  elastic  rod  and  fine  tackle,  and  by  a  procjss 
which  is  called  whipping.  All  fish  which  will  take  the  one 
will  take  the  other  kind  of  lure,  but  not  always  with  an 
equal  degree  of  avidity,  as  we  shall  hereafter  find  ;  but  as 
the  principle  is  the  same  in  both  cases,  they  are  better 
treated  of  together,  rather  than  to  go  over  the  same  ground 
a  second  time. 

THE  APPARATUS  REQUIRED  IN  DIPPING  AND  WHIPPING. 

The  tackle  for  dipping  is  much  more  simple  than  that 
employed  in  whipping,  and  it  consists  of  a  moderately 
short  and  stiff  rod ;  the  spinning  or  trolling-rod,  minus  its 
butt  joint,  answers  this  purpose  well, — of  a  short  but 
strong  reel-line  of  hand-twisted  hair — of  a  single  length — 


446  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

or  two  at  most  of  gut —  and  a  fine  hook  suited  in  size  to 
the  hait  and  fish.  In  dipping,  it  is  usual  to  lengthen  or 
shorten  the  line,  which  is  used  from  a  foot  in  length  to 
two  or  three  yards,  by  coiling  it  round  the  end  of  the  top 
joint,  and  uncoiling  it  as  the  line  is  wished  to  be  extend- 
ed, and  after  the  rod  has  been  insinuated  through  the  trees 
or  bushes  growing  on  the  banks.  Some  anglers  use  a  reel 
fixed  upon  the  lower  part  of  the  second  joint,  and  with  a 
hair-line  it  acts  pretty  well ;  but  with  a  plaited  one,  it  is 
difficult  to  protrude  the  line  from  the  end  of  the  rod  with- 
out so  great  a  degree  of  disturbance  as  to  alarm  the  fish. 
The  uncoiling  from  the  end  of  the  rod  is  not  unattended 
with  this  disadvantage ;  but  it  is  less  objectionable  than 
doing  so  entirely  from  the  reel ;  though  I  think,  for  the 
sake  of  convenience,  that  appendage  may  be  added,  taking 
care  to  have  the  lowest  joint  free,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
shorten  the  rod  by  that  amount  at  pleasure. 

For  whipping,  or  fly-fishing  as  it  is  generally  called — 
that  is,  for  the  use  of  the  artificial  fly — a  rod,  either  single 
or  two-handed,  according  to  circumstances,  is  required, 
with  a  fine  reel-line  and  large-barrelled  reel ;  and  also 
a  long  casting-line,  with  one,  two,  or  three  droppers,  each 
armed  with  a  fly.  : 

The  fly-rod  is  either  a  single-handed  one,  or,  when 
used  for  the  larger  varieties  of  the  trout,  or  for  salmon, 
the  two-handed  rod.  Both  of  these  rods  are  usually  made 
of  the  same  materials,  and  they  differ  only  in  size,  the 
single-handed  varying  from  11  to  13  feet  in  length,  while 
the  two-handed  extends  from  14  to  20  feet.  They  are 
both  usually  made  in  four  or  five  lengths,  but  in  Scotlai  i 


NATURAL    AND    ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.          447 

they  are,  I  believe,  seldom  in  more  than  three  pieces. 
The  butt-end  is  generally  an  ash-sapling,  sometimes  solid, 
and  at  others  hollowed  out  to  receive  the  small  joints. 
The  middle  joints  are  almost  always  made  of  hickory,  and 
the  top  joint  either  of  lancewood  alone,  or  of  that  wood, 
spliced  with  the  bamboo  and  strengthened  with  silk. 
Many  of  the  best  and  lightest  fly-rods  are  now  made,  ex- 
cept the  butt-end,  from  rent  and  glued  bamboo  ;  and  none 
are  more  beautiful  and  efficient  than  these  if  properly  used ; 
but  they  are  very  fragile  in  careless  hands,  and  therefore 
scarcely  fitted  for  the  young  angler.  The  reel  is  either 
simple,  with  a  large  drum  or  central  barrel,  or  otherwise. 
The  multiplier  is  made  with  a  series  of  wheels,  which  are 
intended  to  give  out  and  take  in  the  line  more  rapidly  than 
the  simple  machine.  In  this  desirable  point,  I  am  satisfied 
that  the  object  is  attained  much  more  completely  by  the 
simple  large  drum ;  for  though  the  multiplier  is  very 
pretty  in  theory,  yet  in  practice  it  is  constantly  failing  in 
its  powers  when  tested  by  a  strong  fish.  Besides  this,  the 
large  drum  actually  gives  out  line  much  faster  than  the 
multiplier,  and  has  therefore  that  point  in  its  favor ;  while 
in  taking  it  in,  he  must  be  a  bungler  indeed  who  cannot 
wind  the  winch  or  handle  rapidly  enough  to  do  all  which 
he  wishes  to  effect ;  and  it  is  quite  certain,  that  what  is 
done  is  better  and  more  smoothly  done  in  this  way  than 
by  the  aid  of  wheels  and  cogs,  which  arc  liable  to  jerks 
and  interruptions.  Upon  this  reel  is  wound  from  30 
to  80  yards  of  line,  varying  with  the  rod  and  the  fish, 
for  which  it  is  to  be  used.  Thus  the  smaller  fish,  includ- 
ing the  ordinary  run  of  common  trout  and  the  gray- 


448  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   BPOKTSMEN. 

ling,  will  require  only  30  or  35  yards,  while  the  larger 
varieties  of  trout  and  the  salmon  should  always  have 
from  60  to  80  yards  ready  for  their  capture.  The  hair- 
line should  be  regularly  tapered,  and  should  vary  in 
strength  from  24  hairs  down  to  14  for  salmon,  and  from 
18  down  to  10  or  12  for  trout.  The  tapering  portion, 
however,  should  only  extend  in  the  trout  line  as  far  as  it 
is  clear  of  the  reel,  which  may  be  estimated  at  about  half 
the  length  of  the  line ;  and  in  the  salmon  line  only  for 
about  20  yards  from  the  end.  Plaited  silk  lines  are  now 
much  used,  especially  for  salmon,  but  I  confess  I  have 
never  seen  any  line  which  could  be  thrown  with  as  much 
certainty  as  the  hand-made  horse-hair  line.  It  has  just 
sufficient  stiffness  to  carry  itself  smoothly  through  the  air, 
with  pliancy  enough  to  adapt  itself  to  all  the  varying  evo- 
lutions of  the  angler's  wrists  and  arms.  The  casting-line 
is  composed  of  two,  and  sometimes  of  three  portions ;  the 
first,  or  extreme  portion  consisting,  in  all  cases,  of  several 
lengths  of  single  gut  carefully  knotted  together,  with  or 
without  silk  "  lapping ;  "  the  next  portion  is  usually  of 
treble  gut,  twisted  by  the  machine,  or  by  quills  and  bobbins. 
To  these  some  anglers  add  a  third  portion  of  twisted  hair, 
which,  however,  is  unnecessary  if  the  reel-line  is  properly 
tapered,  and  is  of  hair  also.  The  great  principle  to  be 
carried  out  is  to  taper  the  line  from  the  point  of  the  rod 
to  the  end,  so  that  in  working  it  through  the  air  it  shall 
play  smoothly,  and  obey  the  hand  to  the  greatest  nicety. 
In  this  respect  it  should  imitate  the  four-in-hand  whip, 
which  is  so  graduated  that  it  tapers  all  the  way,  and  is 
hence  capable  of  taking  a  fly  off  the  leader's  ear.  The 


NATURAL   AND    ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.         449 

gut  varies  in  strength  and  size,  from  that  required  for  the 
salmon,  to  the  finer  sizes  used  in  grayling  or  small  trout- 
fishing.  The  single  gut  portion  is  generally  about  two 
yards  long,  and  terminates  in  a  fly,  which  is  called  the 
stretcher,  and  which  is  either  dressed  on  a  length  of  gut, 
or  has  a  fine  loop  left  at  its  head,  hy  which  it  may  be 
attached  to  any  fresh  length  of  gut.  About  three  or  four 
feet  from  this  stretcher  another  fly,  called  a  dropper,  is 
attached  by  means  of  a  short  length  of  gut,  usually  about 
three  or  four  inches  long ;  and  at  the  junction  of  the  single- 
gut  with  the  twisted  portion  there  is  another  dropper,  with 
a  somewhat  longer  length  of  gut.  If  more  than  two 
droppers  are  used,  the  single-gut  length  is  increased  to 
eight  feet,  and  the  third  dropper  is  then  introduced  mid- 
way between  the  two  already  described,  with  a  length  of 
gut  of  about  six  inches,  while  that  of  the  highest  is 
increased  to  eight ;  by  which  gradual  increase  of  length 
the  stretcher  and  the  droppers  all  ought  to  touch  the 
water  at  the  same  time,  while  the  foot  length  of  the 
casting-line  extends  in  a  gentle  sweep  from  the  stretcher 
to  the  point  of  the  rod.  The  mode  of  attaching  these 
droppers  to  the  casting-line  is  by  opening  the  water-knots, 
and  then  introducing  the  dropper-gut  between  their  two 
portions,  after  having  previously  knotted  its  end.  This 
should  be  done  as  neatly  as  possible,  to  avoid  making  an 
unsightly  projection.  Most  anglers  whip  the  ends  of  the 
water-knots  with  white  silk  waxed  with  white  wax,  and 
also  take  a  few  turns  round  the  dropper-gut  to  make  all 
secure.  The  artificial  flies  have  been  already  fully  de- 
scribed above. 


450  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Whipping  for  small  fish,  as  the  dace,  roach,  or  chub, 
where  they  exist,  forms  the  best  introduction  to  the  use 
of  the  fly-rod,  especially  as  these  little  fish  may  be  met 
with  in  almost  all  our  streams  and  rivers,  and  often  in 
situations  where  there  are  no  trees  to  interfere  with  the 
use  of  the  line.  Almost  any  small  midge  or  gnat  will 
take  them ;  and  the  tackle  throughout  should  be  of  the 
finest  description,  with  a  light  single-handed  rod  of  about 
11  or  12  feet  in  length.  The  young  angler  should  now 
take  as  much  pains  in  throwing  his  fly  as  if  he  were  intent 
upon  the  capture  of  the  finest  salmon.  In  watching  the 
evolutions  of  the  general  run  of  fishermen,  it  is  common 
enough  to  see  two  or  three  feet  of  line  touching  the  water 
before  the  fly,  whereas  the  contrary  ought  to  be  the  case ; 
and  the  fly  should  alight  on  the  water  as  airily  and  gently 
as  its  natural  prototype,  with  scarcely  any  portion  of  the 
line  following  its  example  by  coining  into  contact  with  the 
water  at  all.  If  the  angler  will  only  endeavor  to  avoid 
jerking  his  line,  and  will  coax  his  fly  rather  than  force  it 
forwards,  he  will  soon  see  the  difference.  The  cast  or 
throw  is  effected  as  follows,  when  the  rod  is  light  and  there 
is  plenty  of  elbow-room.  I  am  now  supposing  that  the 
angler  has  a  rod  of  11  feet  in  length,  and  a  line,  altogether, 
of  about  18,  with  either  a  single  stretcher,  or  in  addition 
one  or  two  droppers,  all  very  minute  ;  he  takes  the  casting- 
line  in  his  left  hand,  at  such  a  distance  from  the  fly  that  it 
is  quite  clear  of  the  ground,  and  with  the  rod  pointing 
forward  and  to  the  left ;  then,  at  the  moment  when  he 
looses  the  line,  he,  with  a  half-side,  and  half-backward 
movement  of  the  arm,  sweeps  the  line  in  a  gentle  curve  till 


NATURAL    AND   ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.  451 

it  is  well  behind  and  above  him.  It  is  at  this  point  that 
the  first  mistake  is  likely  to  occur,  as  here  the  awkward 
hand  generally  jerks  his  fly,  which  is  sometimes  even 
whipped  off  with  a  snap,  and  after  this  jerk  he  can  never 
regain  that  even  and  smooth  flow  which  would  otherwise 
follow  its  operation  from  the  backward  to  the  forward 
direction.  When  this  movement  is  elegantly  and  effect- 
ively carried  out,  the  line,  without  any  abrupt  change,  is 
brought  round  the  head  from  the  backward  to  the  forward 
movement  without  passing  directly  overhead,  but  in  a  line 
considerably  above  the  level  of  the  head  of  the  angler; 
when  it  has  passed  before  the  body,  it  is  thrown  forwards 
at  the  full  length  of  the  arm,  and,  without  the  slightest 
hurry,  to  the  point  which  it  is  intended  the  fly  shall  alight 
upon.  If  this  is  badly  executed,  and  with  any  jerk,  the 
line  is  doubled  upon  itself,  and  the  loop  thus  made  touches 
the  water  whilst  the  fly  is  two  or  three  feet  from  its  des- 
tination, and  finally  descends  with  a  whole  series  of  con- 
volutions of  gut  or  hair,  enough  to  alarm  all  fish  within 
sight.  This  is  called  throwing  from  the  left  shoulder,  from 
which  mode  throwing  from  the  right  shoulder,  or  back- 
casting,  differs  in  bringing  the  rod  and  arm,  after  they  have 
achieved  the  backward  movement,  forward  again  by  the 
side  of  the  head,  delivering  the  fly  over  the  right  shoulder, 
without  making  the  complete  circular  sweep  behind  the 
body.  Sometimes,  when  it  is  desirable  to  throw  the  fly 
with  great  delicacy,  it  is  tried  by  waving  the  line  from 
right  to  left  over  the  head,  in  the  form  of  a  figure  8; 
but  this  can  only  be  effectively  done  with  a  single  fly,  as 
the  droppers  interfere  with  the  manoeuvre  too  much  to 


452  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

allow  of  its  being  tried  when  they  are  used.  The  young 
angler  should  practise  both  methods,  and  should  never 
consider  that  he  has  mastered  the  first  great  difficulty, 
until  he  has  acquired  the  power  of  dropping  his  fly  upon 
the  water  tolerably  near  a  given  spot  by  both  the  above 
methods,  and  without  its  being  preceded  by  any  portion  of 
the  line,  or  followed  by  more  than  a  few  inches  of  it.  As 
soon  as  he  has  thus  dropped  his  fly  he  begins  to  draw  it 
more  or  less  directly  to  him,  and  with  a  series  of  jerks, 
varying  a  good  deal  according  to  the  fly  and  the  fish  to  be 
taken.  In  whipping  for  small  fry,  very  little  more  need  be 
done  than  to  bring  the  fly  gently  and  steadily  towards  the 
bank,  and  then  repeat  the  east  in  a  fresh  direction.  When 
hooked,  they  may  be  landed  at  once,  even  with  a  single 
hair-line.  Dipping  may  be  practised  with  the  small  fry, 
using  the  natural  house-fly,  or  in  fact  any  small  fly ;  but  it 
requires  very  little  art,  and  I  shall  therefore  postpone  the 
description  of  this  species  of  fishing  until  the  paragraph 
treating  of  Chub-fishing. 

Almost  every  species  of  fish,  at  some  time  or  other, 
rises  to  fly  in  clear  river  waters ;  but  the  sea-trout  is  the 
only  one  which  is  ever  known  to  take  it  in  the  open  sea. 
This  fish,  however,  affords  great  sport  in  the  Gulf  of  :St. 
Lawrence,  even  out  of  sight  of  land,  with  a  large  scarlet 
ibis  fly,  in  a  mackerel  breeze.  The  pickerel,  the  bass, 
sometimes  the  perch,  the  smelt,  and  even  the  shad  will  rise 
to  the  fly,  and  all  the  small  fry  in  the  pools  will  take  a 
midge  on  the  smallest  sized  hook.  Indeed,  there  is  no 
prettier  practice  for  a  young  hand,  than  whipping  for  smelt 
with  the  red  fly,  in  large  clear  rivers. 


NATURAL    AND    ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.          453 


TROUT-FISHING. 

Unlike  the  mere  whipping  for  small  fish,  which  I  have 
dilated  upon  as  forming  an  excellent  introduction  to  trout- 
fishing,  the  latter  requires  great  caution  not  to  scare  the 
fish,  either  by  the  too  near  presence  of  the  angler,  or  by 
the  awkward  manipulation  of  his  line  and  flies.  The  man- 
agement of  the  two-handed  rod  will  more  properly  come 
under  salmon  and  lake-trout  fishing,  for,  although  it  is 
sometimes  employed  in  fishing  for  common  trout  in  large 
and  wide  rivers,  yet  it  can  scarcely  even  then  be  needed, 
and  it  certainly  loses  in  delicacy  of  manipulation  much 
more  than  it  gains  in  its  power  of  controlling  a  larger 
extent  of  water.  Different  men  adopt  various  plans  of 
throwing  the  fly,  but  it  is  of  little  consequence  which 
mode  of  many  is  followed,  so  that  the  angler  has  only 
entire  command  of  his  rod  and  line,  and  can  do  what  he 
tikes  toith  his  flies.  When  this  perfection  of  casting  is 
arrived  at,  the  angler  may  choose  whether  he  will  fish  up- 


4:54  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

stream  or  down,  but  he  will  soon  find  out  by  experience 
that  the  wind  in  his  back  is  advantageous  to  him,  and  that 
he  will  scarcely  succeed  in  any  case  in  casting  his  fly  in 
the  face  of  a  strong  breeze.  Beyond  this,  no  rule  will  in 
all  cases  apply,  and  the  fly-fisher  must  use  his  own  discre- 
tion, founded  in  great  measure  upon  practical  observation, 
as  to  the  precise  mode  in  which  he  will  reach  and  fish 
particular  parts  of  the  water  that  he  believes  to  be  the 
resort  of  good  trout.  Indeed,  it  is  useless  to  attempt 
instructing  the  tyro  by  theoretical  lessons  in  the  details  of 
an  art  in  which  it  is  certain  that  nothing  but  practice  can 
give  any  degree  of  proficiency.  This  is  constantly  shown 
even  in  the  professed  fly-fisher  of  two  or  three  seasons'  ex- 
perience, who  throws  his  fly  with  all  the  most  approved 
motions,  and  is  beforehand  fully  convinced  that  he  is 
the  equal  of  any  angler,  from  Maine  to  Mississippi ; 
but,  when  he  sees  fish  after  fish  hooked  and  landed 
by  some  older  hand  following  in  his  wake,  and  using  the 
very  same  fly,  with  perhaps  an  inferior  rod,  he  is  obliged 
to  confess  that  theory  must  succumb  to  delicacy  of  hand- 
ling, and  that  fly-fishing  is  a  practical  art,  rather  than  a 
science  attainable  in  the  closet.  The  various  degrees  of 
success  mark  the  difference  between  the  master  and  the 
scholar,  and  show  that  a  lifetime  may  be  spent  in  acquir- 
ing the  power  of  deceiving  this  wary  fish,  and  yet  there 
may  be  room  for  improvement ;  hence  it  is  that  so  many 
men  of  talent  have  been  devotees  to  the  fly-rod,  and  while 
they  have  enjoyed  the  beauties  of  nature  displayed  to 
them  during  the  prosecution  of  their  sport,  they  have 
nevertheless  been  much  more  deeply  engaged  in  acquiring 


NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.         455 

the  art  of  fascinating  a  fish  seldom  of  more  than  20  ounces 
in  weight.  No  one  of  these  men  would  care  for  taking 
trout  in  any  way  unaccompanied  by  difficulty,  and  attain- 
able without  dexterity ;  but  when  it  is  found  that  by  long 
practice,  and  careful  observation,  a  feat  can  be  accom- 
plished which  no  other  means  will  give,  then  the  man  who 
has  mastered  the  power  congratulates  himself  upon  its 
possession,  and  is  not  unnaturally  pleased  in  being  enabled 
to  display  it,  by  showing  what  may  be  done  after  another's 
failure.  Rivalry  is  the  great  zest  in  sport  of  all  kinds, 
and  the  trout  taken  by  an  artist,  in  water  which  has  been 
well  flogged  by  his  inferiors,  are  thought  much  more  of 
than  those  landed  where  they  rise  to  any  bungler's  throw. 
But  to  proceed  to  such  a  general  description  as  may  be  of 
some  little  use  to  the  tyro,  I  must  first  observe,  that  he 
should  confine  himself  to  a  single-handed  rod  with  a  mod- 
erately long  line — say,  of  from-  15  to  18  feet,  which  he 
should  at  once  draw  off  the  reel,  and  of  which  he  should 
hold  the  gut  in  his  hand  near  the  fly.  With  this  he  may 
proceed  to  fish  the  river  which  is  the  seat  of  his  intended 
sport,  and  may  walk  quietly  along  its  bank,  throwing 
successively  over  every  yard  of  likely  water  ;  but  always 
fishing  first  the  water  nearest  to  him,  and  lengthening  or 
shortening  his  line  according  to  circumstances,  such  as  the 
breadth  of  water,  the  freedom  from  trees,  &c.  He  will 
find  that  he  must  not  throw  straight  across  the  river, 
neither  must  he  allow  the  fly  or  flies  to  be  drawn  too  near 
his  own  bank,  or  he  will  not  be  able  to  lift  them  cleverly 
from  the  water,  so  as  to  get  such  a  clear  sweep  as  will 
enable  him  to  re-cast  them  with  precision  aud  delicacy. 


456  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

Hence,  instead  of  fishing  the  water  under  his  feet,  he  will 
throw  his  flies  so  as  to  take  the  edge  next  his  own  bank  at 
the  length  of  his  line ;  and  will  thus  successively  throw 
over  all  on  his  side  long  before  his  person  is  seen ;  and 
when  he  brings  his  flies  up  to  within  10  or  12  feet  of 
where  he  is  standing,  he  may  lift  them,  because  he  has 
already  well  tried  that  portion  of  the  water.  But  besides 
the  excellence  in  throwing  the  fly,  there  is  also  a  great  art 
in  striking  and  hooking  the  fish  exactly  at  the  right  time, 
and  with  the  proper  degree  of  force.  When  the  trout 
rises  at  the  fly,  which  may  always  be  seen  by  the  angler, 
the  rod  should  be  raised  with  a  motion  upwards  of  the 
wrist  only,  avoiding,  as  far  as  the  excitement  of  the  mo- 
ment will  permit,  all  shoulder  or  elbow-work,  and  using 
just  such  a  degree  of  wrist-action  as  may  be  judged  will 
fasten  so  sharp  an  implement  as  the  hook  in  so  soft  a  sub- 
stance as  the  mouth  of  the  trout.  Theoretically  this  may 
easily  be  estimated,  but  practically  it  will  be  found  that 
the  tyro  generally  jerks  hard  enough  to  strike  a  blunt 
hook  deep  into  the  jaws  of  a  shark  or  dolphin.  The  object 
of  striking  at  all,  is  to  prevent  the  fish  from  having  time  to 
discover  his  mistake,  the  natural  consequence  of  which 
would  be  to  "  blow  out  "  the  fly  from  his  mouth.  The  fly- 
fisher,  therefore,  waits  till  the  moment  when  the  fly  is 
actually  within  the  lips  of  his  victim,  and  then,  with  a 
gentle,  yet  rapid  wrist-action,  he  fixes  the  hook  there. 
This  is  much  more  easily  done  with  a  light  single-handed 
rod  than  with  one  used  by  both  hands,  and  hence  it  is 
advisable  for  this  reason,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the 
greater  facilities  in  casting  with  it,  to  limit  the  young 


NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.         457 

trout-fisher  to  its  use.  In  playing  trout  when  hooked, 
much  depends  upon  their  size ;  if  small,  they  may  be  land- 
ed immediately ;  but  if  above  half  or  three-quarters  of  a 
pound,  according  to  the  fineness  of  the  tackle,  and  the 
gameness  of  the  fish  of  that  locality,  it  is  necessary  to 
yield  to  his  powers  for  a  time,  and  to  give  him  line  for 
running  ;  always  taking  care  not  to  give  him  so  much  lib- 
erty as  to  enable  him  to  reach  adjacent  weeds,  or  to 
rub  his  nose  against  the  ground,  and  thus,  in  either  way, 
get  rid  of  his  hook.  When  tolerably  exhausted,  by 
advancing  the  butt  of  the  rod,  and  so  using  its  flexibility 
as  a  safety-spring,  the  reel  may  be  gradually  wound  up 
until  the  fish  is  brought  near  enough  to  be  dropped  quietly 
into  the  landing-net,  after  which  it  may  be  considered 
secure.  But  whoever  has  charge  of  the  net,  must  keep 
well  out  of  sight  of  the  hooked  fish  until  he  is  effectually 
exhausted,  or  he  will  be  sure  to  make  fresh  struggles,  and 
often  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  his  loss.  The  fly  may 
easily  be  cut  out  of  the  lip  with  a  penknife,  and  is  gener- 
ally none  the  worse  for  the  service  it  has  performed. 

Sea  and  lake-trout,  when  they  take  the  fly,  are  to  be 
managed  in  the  same  way  as  salmon,  whose  size  and 
strength  they  approach  much  more  nearly  than  those  of 
the  common  trout. 

SALMON-FISHING. 

For  the  salmon,  tackle  must  be  employed  of  a  descrip- 
tion much  stronger  than  that  used  for  trout ;  in  principle, 
however,  it  is  nearly  similar ;   and  a  salmon-rod  with  its 
20 


458  MANUAL   FOB   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

line  may  be  compared,  in  all  respects,  to  a  trout-rod  mag- 
nified with  a  slight  power  of  the  microscope. 

The  salmon-rod  should  be  from  14  to  20  feet  in  length, 
and  should  be  made  of  three  or  four  lengths,  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  fisher.  The  butt  is  always  of  ash,  the  middle 
piece  or  pieces  of  hickory,  perfectly  free  from  flaw,  and 
the  top-piece  of  the  best  bamboo,  either  rent  and  glued  up 
or  spliced  in  lengths,  which  of  course  only  extend  from 
joint  to  joint ;  this  is  better  than  lance-wood,  which  is  apt 
to  make  the  rod  top-heavy.  Anglers  of  note  differ  as  to 
the  nature  of  the  joints,  which  are  sometimes  made  to 
screw  together ;  at  others,  with  the  bare  wood  of  one  joint 
dropping  into  the  brazed  ferule  terminating  its  next  neigh- 
bor ;  and  at  others  again,  by  having  both  ends  brazed  so 
as  to  oppose  brass  to  brass.  In  both  the  latter  cases  the 
double  pin,  or  bent  wire  and  silk  fastening  are  used, 
in  order  to  prevent  their  becoming  loose  and  unat- 
tached in  the  ardor  of  fishing.  The  rod  should  bal- 
ance pretty  evenly  at  the  part  where  the  upper  hand 
grasps  it  above  the  reel,  which  is  usually  fixed  at  18  or 
20  inches  from  the  butt-end.  These  essential  character- 
istics will  suffice  for  the  description  of  the  salmon-rod.  The 
reel-line  has  also  been  there  described,  and  is  of  80  to,  100 
yards  in  length,  with  the  last  20  only  tapered  down  to 
little  more  than  half  its  regular  size.  To  this  is  appended 
a  casting-line  made  on  the  same  plan  as  the  trout-line,  but 
one  third  longer  in  all  its  parts,  and  entirely  of  gut,  which 
should  be  of  the  size  called  salmon-gut.  The  flies  for  sal- 
mon are  described  at  page  402.  When  a  dropper  is  used, 
it  is  generally  appended  at  about  four  feet  from  the  end. 


:  / 


NATURAL    AND    ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.          459 

These  implements  are  used  on  a  scale  very  different  to 
trout-fishing  and,  generally  speaking,  with  less  delicacy  in 
proportion  to  the  increase  of  sweep,  and  the  coarseness  of  the 
tackle ;  but  in  salmon-fishing,  so  much  depends  upon  the 
extent  of  water  covered  in  throwing  the  fly,  that  no  pains 
should  be  spared  to  acquire  this  power  as  fully  as  possible. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  in  salmon-fishing,  unlike 
trout-fishing,  the  river  is  often  too  broad  for  any  line  to 
reach  nearly  over  all  the  good  casts,  and  success  is  here 
often  obtained  solely  by  the  power  which  some  men  have 
of  sending  their  fly  into  parts  which  their  weaker  or  less 
expert  rivals  cannot  possibly  cover.  "With  the  young 
angler,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  secure  the  assistance 
of  some  resident  guide  well  acquainted  with  the  haunts  of 
the  fish,  who  will  give  him  confidence,  if  he  does  nothing 
else.  Without  his  aid  the  angler,  if  unsuccessful,  will 
wander  from  point  to  point,  and  will  be  unable  to  do  jus- 
tice to  himself,  because  he  has  no  confidence  that  there  are 
fish  where  he  is  trying  for  them.  Indeed,  even  the  experi- 
enced salmon-fisher  is  all  the  better  for  this  assistance,  if 
he  is  on  strange  water,  as,  though  he  may  give  a  shrewd 
general  guess  as  to  the  most  probable  casts  for  fish,  he  will 
often  pass  over  good  ones,  and  select  those  which  are  much 
inferior  to  his  rejected  localities.  He  will  also  get  some 
information  as  to  the  probability  of  his  flies  suiting  the 
particular  river  and  time,  and  generally  as  to  the  fitness  of 
his  arrangements  for  that  precise  spot.  This  knowledge, 
once  obtained,  will  serve  as  long  as  the  river  continues  in 
the  same  state;  but  if  rain,  or  the  reverse,  should  alter  the 
condition  of  the  water,  making  it  either  much  lower  or 


460  MANUAL   FOE   YOUNG   6PORTSMEK. 

much  higher  than  before,  the  tyro  will  require  additional 
aid  from  his  quondam  friend.  This  is  known  to  all 
salmon-fishers,  inasmuch  as  these  fish  frequent  very  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  same  river  in  a  low,  and  again,  in  a  high 
stage  of  the  water ;  and  the  flies  also  will  require  consider- 
able modification,  according  to  these  changing  elements. 
There  are,  however,  some  general  rules  which  may  be  of 
service,  though  they  by  no  means  apply  in  all  cases. 
Thus,  large  rivers  usually  require  larger  flies  than  small 
streams,  which  latter  will  more  often  be  successfully  fished 
with  a  gaudy  but  comparatively  small  fly — that  is,  if  the 
water  is  not  too  clear.  The  fish,  generally  lying  at  the 
bottom,  will  scarcely  be  attracted  from  the  depth  of  a 
large  river  by  a  small  fly,  whilst  if  it  is  too  gaudy,  they 
are  scared  by  its  colors  when  they  rise  near  the  surface. 
Again,  in  small  streams  salmon  seldom  take  any  fly, 
except  when  the  water  is  rather  discolored,  and  in  that 
state  a  dusky  or  dull  one  is  not  sufficiently  attractive ;  and 
when  the  same  condition  of  water  exists  in  the  large  rivers 
a  gaudy  color  will  also  be  preferred.  The  size  of  the  fly 
is  of  course  an  index  to  that  of  the  hook,  which  is  its 
foundation.  Beyond  these  imperfect  hints  little  aid  can 
be  given  to  the  tyro,  and  he  must  learn  by  experience  in 
his  own  person,  or  from  that  of  others,  the  peculiar  rules 
applicable  to  each  locality. 

The  casting  is  generally  from  the  left  shoulder,  back- 
wards ;  after  which  the  line  is  steadily  and  rather  slowly 
brought  over  the  right  shoulder,  with  the  rod  held  in  both 
hands,  and  its  point  directed  upwards  and  backwards.  It 
is  then  brought  forwards  with  an  increase  in  speed  and 


NATURAL    AND   ARTIFICIAL    FLY-FISHING.          461 

force,  when,  still  accelerating  the  speed,  the  angler  delivers 
his  fly  at  the  spot  upon  which  he  wishes  it  to  alight.  This 
throwing  from  the  left  shoulder  is  chiefly  useful  where 
there  are  low  bushes,  or  other  impediments  near  the 
ground  behind  the  angler,  under  which  circumstances  the 
fly  must  be  kept  aloft ;  but  sometimes  the  reverse  is  the 
case,  and  with  impending  trees  and  a  bare  background,  the 
right  shoulder  or  back-casting  will  avail  much  better  than 
the  rival  mode  above  alluded  to ;  but  it  is  not  so  manage- 
able with  the  two-handed  rod  as  with  the  light  single- 
handed  trout-rod,  which  may  be  used  wit^i  as  much  cer- 
tainty and  facility  as  the  four-in-hand  whip.  Mr.  Stoddart 
lays  it  down  as  a  rule  that  no  man  can  manage  properly, 
without  the  aid  of  the  wind,  a  line  more  than  four  times 
the  length  of  his  rod,  measuring  from  the  fly  to  its  point, 
and  not  including  that  part  within  the  rings.  This  is 
certainly  much  within  what  is  generally  considered  the 
extreme  length  of  the  salmon-line,  and  many  professed 
fishers  maintain  that  they  can  throw  nearly  twice  as  far  as 
that  length  will  command.  But  there  is  a  vast  difference 
between  simply  throwing  a  fly,  and  throwing  it  cleverly 
and  effectually ;  still  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  Mr. 
Stoddart  has  a  little  underrated  the  power  of  the  salmon- 
rod  and  line  in  good  hands,  when  he  limits  the  range  to 
35  yards  from  the  spot  where  the  angler  stands.  This  I 
should  say  is  about  the  average  length  of  good  fly-fishers, 
but  I  should  think  that  some  few  tall  and  muscular  men, 
who  are  also  adepts,  can  command  nearly  10  yards  more, 
when  the  air  is  perfectly  still,  and  the  situation  is  favorable 
to  the  display  of  their  power  and  skill.  Much  must 


462  MANUAL   FOE   YOITNG   SPORTSMEN. 

depend  upon  the  tackle,  which  should  be  very  nicely 
graduated,  and  if  the  cast  is  intended  to  be  very  extensive, 
one  fly  only  should  be  used ;  indeed  in  salmon-fishing  it  is 
seldom  that  much  good  is  derived  from  a  dropper  in  ad- 
dition to  the  stretcher.  When  the  fly  is  to  be  thrown 
in  a  wide  river,  of  rather  sluggish  current,  it  may  be 
directed  nearly  straight  across,  especially  if  the  opposite 
bank  can  be  reached ;  and  the  fly,  after  it  has  touched  the 
water,  may  be  brought  back  with  a  circular .  sweep,  keep- 
ing the  rod  low  until  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  raise  it 
in  order  to  bring  home  the  fly,  and  working  it  by  gentle 
fits  and  starts  so  as  to  imitate  the  movements  of  a  living 
insect.  When,  however,  there  is  a  considerable  stream, 
the  fly  may  be  thrown  obliquely  downwards,  as  in  trout- 
fishing,  and  is  then  brought  back  against  the  stream,  and 
often  without  that  attempt  at  jerking  which  must  be  made 
in  comparatively  still  water.  In  all  cases,  the  salmon- 
fisher  should  keep  as  much  as  possible  out  of  sight ;  and 
when  he  has  recourse  to  wading,  he  should  only  enter  the 
water  which  he  has  already  effectually  tried ;  and  when 
there,  he  should  make  as  little  disturbance  in  it  as  he  can 
possibly  avoid.  In  this  respect,  however,  salmon  are 
duller  and  less  wary  than  common  trout,  or  even  than  'sea- 
trout  ;  but  still  they  are  easily  scared,  and  no  one  should 
incautiously  run  risks  which  are  not  absolutely  required. 
The  fly  is  worked  very  differently  to  the  trout-fly,  which 
must  always  be  on  the  top  of  the  water  to  be  effectual ; 
whereas  the  salmon-fly  should  always  be  sufficiently  under 
the  water  to  avoid  making  any  ripple  as  it  is  drawn  towards 
the  thrower,  and  yet  not  so  deep  as  to  be  wholly  out  of 


NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.         463 

sight.  The  young  angler  should  not,  however,  follow  his 
lure  too  closely  with  his  eye,  or  he  will  be  apt  to  strike 
when  the  fish  rises  at  it ;  whereas,  he  should  always  depend 
upon  the  sense  of  touch  before  he  raises  his  rod,  which  is 
the  only  motion  to  be  adopted.  Sharp  striking,  as  in 
trout-fishing,  is  wholly  reprehensible ;  and  all  that  is 
required  is  the  instinctive  stand  which  it  is  impossible  to 
avoid  making  against  the  fish  as  he  seizes  the  fly,  to  run 
away  with  it.  Sometimes,  however,  it  is  found  difficult, 
or  even  impossible,  to  tempt  the  salmon  into  actually 
seizing  the  fly ;  they  will  rise  at  it  again  and  again,  but 
from  some  cause  or  other  refuse  to  take  it  into  their  jaws. 
In  this  case  it  must  be  changed  until  one  is  found  to  suit 
their  fancy,  but  the  change  need  not  be  made  until  the 
same  fly  has  been  tried  two  or  three  times  unsuccessfully. 
Patience  and  perseverance,  with  skill  and  science,  will  here 
be  required,  and  will  always  be  served  in  the  long  run. 

In  playing  the  salmon,  greater  art  is  required  than  in 
the  corresponding  department  of  trout-fishing ;  and,  in 
consequence,  nearly  one  third  of  all  the  fish  hooked  escape 
before  they  are  landed.  This  arises  generally  from  imper- 
fect hooking,  but  often  also  from  defect  in  the  tackle, 
which  has  escaped  the  notice  of  the  angler.  Besides 
these  causes  of  danger,  there  are  others  depending  upon 
the  direction  taken  by  the  fish,  which  cannot  always  be 
followed  by  the  angler,  either  from  the  depth  of  the  water 
in  large  rivers,  or  from  mechanical  causes  in  the  shape  of 
rocks,  woods,  &c.,  where  the  stream  is  smaller.  When 
hooked,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  raise  the  point  of 
the  rod,  commonly  called  "  giving  the  fish  the  butt/'  which 


464  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

motion  must  be  carried  out  with  as  much  power  as  the 
fisher  considers  his  tackle  will  bear ;  always  remembering 
to  give  way  by  releasing  the  line,  when  the  strain  is  too 
great  for  it  to  bear,  and  when  the  fish  is  resolutely  bent 
upon  running.  But  this  exact  calculation  as  to  restrain- 
ing or  giving  way  is  sometimes  very  difficult,  especially  as 
the  size  of  the  fish  is  no  certain  index  to  his  power ;  nor 
can  the  size  always  be  correctly  estimated  at  the  first 
commencement  of  the  struggle,  especially  by  the  tyro  at 
this  kind  of  sport.  A  lively  and  fresh-run  fish  will  appear 
twice  as  big  as  he  really  is,  whilst  a  large  but  dull  one  will 
sometimes  deceive  his  pursuer  into  the  belief  that  he  is 
weak  and  powerless,  and  then,  in  a  fit  of  desperation,  he 
will  show  his  real  size  and  capabilities  by  breaking  away 
with  a  long  line  towing  astern.  Mr.  Stoddart's  directions 
for  playing  the  salmon  are  so  good,  that  I  am  tempted  to 
quote  them  in  his  own  words  : — "  Always  in  running  a 
fish,  keep  well  up  to,  or,  if  possible,  at  right  angles  with 
its  head.  In  the  event  of  its  taking  across  the  current, 
instead  of  stemming  or  descending  it,  give  the  butt  with- 
out reserve.  In  the  case  of  a  plunge  or  somerset,  slacken 
line  as  quickly  as  possible,  but  lose  no  time  in  recovering 
it  when  the  danger  is  over.  When  fish  are  plentiful,  and 
in  the  humor  to  take  the  fly,  it  is  better  to  risk  the  loss 
of  an  indifferent-sized  individual  which  you  happen  to  have 
hooked,  than  to  allow  a  long  range  of  unfished  water  to 
become  disturbed  through  its  capricious  movements.  In 
this  case  stint  the  line  and  hold  on  obdurately,  but  not 
beyond  the  presumed  strength  of  your  tackle.  During 
the  grilse  season  there  are  many  portions  of  water,  on 


NATURAL   AND   ARTIFICIAL   FLY-FISHING.         465 

Tweed  especially,  where  it  would  be  absolute  folly  in 
the  angler  were  he  to  humor  the  fish  to  its  heart's  con- 
tent. A  lively  nervous  grilse  may  occasion  more  alarm 
among  its  kind  than  one  is  aware  of,  especially  if  the 
water  be  of  the  transparent  hue  it  generally  bears  during 
the  summer  and  autumnal  months.  In  event,  however,  of 
the  salmon  being  few  or  rising  shyly,  I  would  advise  that 
some  degree  of  care  and  ceremony  be  taken  with  what 
fortune  brings  to  the  hook ;  and  that  on  such  occasions 
more  regard  be  paid  to  the  management  of  the  fish  under 
control  than  to  the  non-disturbance  of  a  few  yards  of 
stream,  where  the  chances  of  adding  to  one's  success  are, 
at  the  least,  extremely  doubtful.  In  these  circumstances 
avoid  using  undue  violence.  Should  the  fish  escape,  the 
consciousness  of  your  having  done  so  will  only  add  to  the 
disappointment.  There  is  one  precaution  particularly  to 
be  attended  to  in  respect  to  a  newly  run  fish,  and  that  is, 
immediately  on  hooking  it  to  use  a  moderate  degree  of 
pressure.  The  salmon  will  then  brave  or  stem  the  cur- 
rent, and  direct  its  course  upwards  ;  whereas,  on  tighten- 
ing the  reins,  it  will  frequently  do  the  reverse,  and  thus 
not  only  may  a  portion  of  the  water  in  prospect  become 
disturbed,  but  there  is  considerable  chance,  and  in  some 
places  an  absolute  certainty,  of  the  fish,  if  a  large  one, 
making  its  escape."  Baggits  generally  descend  the  stream 
as  a  rule,  when  hooked,  and  no  management  will  make 
them  leave  the  current ;  but  as  they  fight  sluggishly,  and 
as  their  loss  is  of  little  consequence,  provided  they  do  not 
run  away  with  a  good  line,  the  butt  may  be  shown  them 
pretty  early,  and  with  a  considerable  degree  of  power. 
20* 


466  MANUAL  FOR   YOUNG   SPORTSMEN. 

The  gaff  is  to  be  used  in  the  following  manner : — 
When  the  salmon  has  been  thoroughly  exhausted  by  his 
efforts  to  free  himself  from  the  hook,  in  which  he  has  been 
opposed  by  the  elastic  resistance  offered  by  the  rod,  he  is 
brought  near  the  bank,  still  keeping  the  butt-end  of  the 
rod  well  advanced;  and  the  assistant  then  proceeds  to 
strike  the  gaff  into  the  shoulder  of  tlie  fish,  or  if  he  uses 
the  single  hook,  to  insert  it  into  the  gill-cover.  The  latter 
plan  is  the  least  injurious  to  the  beauty  of  the  fish,  and  in 
skilful  hands  will  answer  every  purpose.  In  all  cases, 
however,  the  assistant  should  keep  out  of  sight  until  the 
angler  is  satisfied,  by  the  yielding  of  the  fish,  that  it  is  safe 
for  him  to  approach,  for  a  neglect  of  this  precaution  leads 
to  the  loss  of  many  a  fish.  The  assistant  attempting  to 
strike  him  before  he  is  spent  only  makes  him  desperate ; 
and  the  efforts  to  escape,  which  before  this  were  within 
bounds,  and  under  the  control  of  the  angler,  are  now 
rendered  madly  violent.  This  tries  even  good  tackle  too 
far,  and  either  the  hook  itself  or  the  gut  gives  way,  or  else 
the  hold  on  the  fish  actually  tears  away.  Tact  and  experi- 
ence are  the  only  safe  guides  in  this  delicate  point,  and 
without  them  apparent  victory  often  ends  in  defeat. 
Instead  of  the  gaff  or  hook,  the  landing-net  is  much  used ; 
and  in  the  South,  as  well  as  in  Wales,  is  perhaps  more  in 
vogue  than  the  gaff.  The  only  objection  is  its  size ;  but  as 
both  must  be  carried  by  an  assistant,  since  neither  can  be 
well  managed  by  the  angler  himself,  this  is  really  of  little 
consequence.  If,  however,  the  angler  is  either  unable  or 
unwilling  to  obtain  an  assistant,  the  hook  with  sliding 
stick  is  the  best  instrument  for  the  purpose ;  but  eveu 


NATURAL    AND    ARTIFICIAL    FLYFISHING. 

with  its  aid  he  must  wait  until  the  fish  is  nearly  spent,  and 
must  then  draw  near  a  low  and  shelving  shore  before  he 
can  venture  to  hook  him  under  the  gills.  Most  rivers, 
however,  present  these  convenient  spots  at  intervals,  and 
the  angler  should  play  his  fish  until  he  reaches  one,  let 
the  distance  be  what  it  may,  if  he  wishes  to  run  no  un- 
necessary risk.  In  all  cases  when  landed,  the  salmon 
should  at  once  be  knocked  on  the  head,  and  the  hook 
carefully  removed  with  a  penknife. 


SEA  FISHING. 

WITHOUT  descending  to  deep  sea-fishing,  with  a  drop-line 
and  sinker  of  any  given  weight  in  many-fathom  water, 
there  is  pretty  fair  sport  to  be  had  in  the  bays,  and  on 
most  of  the  Atlantic  sea-coasts  in  the  spring,  summer  and 
autumn,  with  several  varieties  of  fish,  which  are  also  ex- 
cellent on  the  table. 

The  chief  favorites  are  the  following  : — 

The  striped  bass,  Labrax  Lineatus. 

The  king  fish,  Umbrina  Nebulosa. 

The  weak  fish,  Otolithus  Eegalis.  A  variety  of  this 
fish,  Otolithus  Carolinensis,  is  frequent  in  the  Southern 
rivers,  and  is  known,  improperly,  as  "  the  Trout." 

The  black  fish,  or  Tautog,  Tautoga  Americana. 

The  sea  bass,  Centropristes  Nigricans. 

The  sheep's  head,  Sargus  Ovis. 

The  porgee,  Pagrus  Argyrops. 

The  sea  perch,  Corvina  Argyroleuca. 

The  blue  fish,  Temnodon  Saltator. 


SEA-FISHING.  469 

It  cannot  be  said,  that  there  is  any  great  skill  or 
science  in  the  taking  of  these  fish  ;  as  there  is,  for  instance, 
in  fly-fishing,  trolling  or  spinning  with  the  dead  bait ;  but 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  is  much  amusement,  a  good 
deal  of  excitement,  and  that  this  sort  of  fishing  is,  with  an 
agreeable  party,  a  pleasant  way  of  passing  a  hot  summer 
or  sultry  autumn  day. 

The  best  varieties  of  fish  taken  in  the  bays  and  estua- 
ries of  our  rivers,  are,  of  those  above  named  especially ; 
the  weak  fish,  the  king  fish,  the  black  fish,  and  the  sheep's- 
head  ;  the  latter  being  the  American  epicure's  prime  boast, 
and  the  rival  of  the  European  turbot. 

The  weak  fish  is  abundant  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York,  and  is  angled  for  with  much  success  in  the  inner 
bay.  It  is  said  to  derive  its  name  from  the  weakness  of 
its  mouth,  which  is  so  soft  that  it  is  often  torn  by  the 
hook,  so  that  the  fish  escapes.  I  have  my  doubts,  how- 
ever, whether  this  is  not  a  misnomer  for  wheat  fish,  by 
which  also  it  is  known.  It  pulls  fairly  upon  the  hook,  and, 
when  struck  of  a  considerable  size,  gives  considerable  play 
to  the  angler  before  it  can  be  secured. 

The  best  rod  is  a  moderately  stiff  general  fishing  rod, 
with  a  reel,  and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  of  flax  or  hemp  line  ;  a  No.  1  Kirby  hook  will 
probably  be  found,  on  the  whole,  the  most  successful ;  and 
the  most  killing  baits  are  shrimp,  shedder  crabs,  or  clams. 
The  weak  fish  occasionally  runs  up  to  eight  or  nine 
pounds,  but  the  general  average  does  not  probably  exceed 
two.  When  fresh  out  of  the  water,  it  is  a  good  fish, 
somewhat  resembling  the  trout  in  flavor,  but  it  soon 


4:70  MANUAL   FOB  YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

becomes  soft  and  flaccid.  It  is  not  nearly  so  game  a  fish 
as  the  striped  bass,  or  the  king  fish,  yet  it  is  not  without 
its  advocates  and  admirers. 

Immediately  around  the  Battery,  and  even  from  Castle 
Garden  bridge,  or  the  flats  off  Communipaw,  in  Butter- 
milk Channel,  at  Bergen  Point,  Elizabethtown  Point,  in 
the  Kills,  and  in  Newark  bay,  this  fish  frequently  affords 
considerable  sport. 

The  barb,  or  king  fish,  is  a  far  superior  fish  to  the  last 
both  in  sporting  qualities  and  in  culinary  excellence.  He 
is  to  be  caught  with  the  same  tackle  described  under  the 
head  of  the  weak  fish,  but  he  requires  a  smaller  hook,  as 
he  has  but  a  little  mouth,  and  he  takes  the  shedder  crab 
more  freely  than  any  other  bait.  It  is  said  that  in  1827, 
a  man  and  a  boy  in  Jamaica  bay,  off  Rockaway,  killed  four 
hundred  and  twenty-two  king  fish  in  six  hours  ;  but  this, 
if  it  ever  were  done,  is  never  like  to  be  done  again,  as  the 
king  fish  is  said  to  be  becoming  very  rare,  some  say  in  con- 
sequence of  the  persecution  of  the  blue  fish,  which  has  re- 
cently become,  in  proportion  as  the  barb  has  waxed  scarce, 
largely  abundant. 

The  king  fish  is  a  bold,  sharp  biter,  and  fights  hard 
when  he  is  first  hooked.  He  is  not,  however,  a  heavy 
customer,  running  only  from  £  a  Ib.  to  2  Ibs.  at  the 
utmost,  a  maximum  which  he  rarely  attains. 

In  New  York  harbor,  the  flats  from  Bergen  Point  to 
Jersey  City,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  rock  known  as 
Black  Tom,  and  opposite  Communipaw,  are  the  best  waters 
in  this  vicinity  for  the  king  fish  ;  but  they  are  also  taken 
in  the  Passaic  bay  and  the  bays  of  Long  Island. 


SEA-FISHING.  471 

The  tautog,  or  black  fish,  is  an  ugly,  leather-mouthed, 
spine-backed  fish,  but  excellent  in  a  barbecue,  and  a  toler- 
ably game  fish  on  the  hook. 

He  comes  into  season  early  in  spring,  and  it  is  said 
that  the  flowering  of  the  dogwoods  may  be  regarded  as  a 
sign  that  he  is  in  condition. 

His  favorite  grounds  are  the  vicinity  of  submerged 
rocks,  piles,  or  sunken  wrecks,  where  there  are  strong 
whirls  and  eddies.  He  is  always  taken  on  the  bottom. 

A  stout  trolling-rod,  with  a  strong  flaxen  line,  a  reel, 
and  two  black-fish  hooks  of  size  to  suit  the  angler's  pleasure, 
each  armed  on  foot  lengths  of  trebly  twisted  gut,  the  one 
of  twelve,  the  other  of  fifteen  inches  length,  attached  to  a 
ring  which  is  appended  to  the  line  below  the  sinker,  con- 
stitute the  best  tackle. 

The  most  killing  bait  is  the  little  fiddler,  or  soldier 
crab  ;  but  the  black  fish  also  bites  freely  at  the  large  finny 
worm  of  the  salt-water  beaches,  Nereis,  when  baited  on  the 
proper  hook. 

He  bites  slowly,  and  likes  to  suck  at  the  bait  before 
swallowing  it,  but,  when  struck,  he  pulls  well  and  fights 
hard,  running  for  the  most  part  downward.  He  runs  in 
weight  from  one  to  ten  or  twelve  pounds,  and  is  famous 
for  his  tenacity  of  life. 

The  sheep's-head  is  usually  taken  with  drop-lines  of 
two  hundred  yards,  a  pound  sinker,  and  a  stout  black-fish 
hook ;  but  this  is  but  a  pull-baker,  pull-devil  kind  of  sport, 
and  the  only  real  way  to  fish  for  him  is  with  a  capital  stiff 
trolling-rod,  a  large  click  reel,  and  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards  of  stout  flaxen  line.  The  hook,  a  large  sized  one 


472  MANUAL   FOR   YOUNG    SPORTSMEN. 

of  the  black-fish  pattern,  armed  on  gimp,  should  be  buried 
to  the  arming  in  the  neck  of  a  whole,  unbroken  clam, 
which  this  ravenous  and  strong  fish  cracks  shell  and  all, 
as  his  favorite  bon  bouche. 

It  is  great  joy  to  the  angler  who  hooks  one,  great 
proof  of  skill  and  immense  glory  if  he  land  him.  For  he 
is  the  king  of  salt-water  game  fish. 

The  blue  fish  is  taken  by  squidding  in  swift  tideways 
from  a  boat  under  sail  in  a  stimsh  breeze ;  and  when  one 
has  the  luck  to  come  across  a  good  shoal  in  the  humor  to 
bite,  it  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  great  fun. 

The  following  tables  of  time,  tide,  bait,  depth,  and 
tackle  contain,  it  is  believed,  all  that  can  be  imparted  by 
printed  instruction  to  the  learner.  Patience,  perseverance, 
good  temper,  and  good  luck  must  do  the  rest. 

All  of  which,  though  it  be  not  in  the  province  to 
bestow,  it  is  in  the  power  earnestly  to  wish,  for  all  hia 
friends  and  readers,  of  their  humble  servant  to  command, 

FRANK  FORESTER. 

THE  CEDAKS,  June  30,  1856. 


AMERICAN    FISHES. 


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APPENDIX.— A. 


HENRY  W.  HERBERT,  Esq. 

DEAR  SIR  : — 

As  you  wished  me  to  make  out  a  list  of  the  prices 
of  my  guns,  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  you  this  statement,  as  fol- 
lows : — 

Prices  of  Guns  in  General. 

First  quality  of  fine  laminated  steel  barrels,  with  superfine 
bar-locks,  steel  case-hardened  furniture,  gold  name 
plate,  pure  platina  vents,  with  spare  nipples,  and 
wrench,  and  bore  to  order ;  with  cover,  only  .  .  $  150  00 

Second  quality,  same  material,  not  so  fine,   .         .         .  125  00 

If  mahogany  case,  and  finest  implements,  and  leather 
over-case  suitable  to  first-mentioned  gun  be  added, 
cost  $25  00,  or  for  all  175  00 

Second  class  case  for  2d  class  gun,  with  outfit  as  required, 

from  $15  00  to 20  00 

Also  double-barrel  guns,  a  good  article,  of  half  and  half, 
steel  and  iron,  barrels.  They  shoot  strong  and  keep 
clean ;  cost,  according  to  finish,  from  $60  00,  to  .  100  00 

The  steel  and  twist  guns,  of  various  bores  and  lengths, 

such  as  you  described ;  according  to  fineness,  from  $  65  to  80  00 

Plainer,  from  $40  00  to 50  00 

All  of  which  I  will  warrant  to  shoot  strong,  and  regular  in  dispersion 


APPENDIX. A. 


of  shot ;  or  I  will  alter  them  to  suit  purchaser,  free  of  charge,  if  re- 
quired after  trial. 

Of  whatever  price  the  gun  is,  I  will  have  it  shoot  well,  when  it 
leaves  me,  but  the  finer  stuff  holds  out  the  longer,  resisting  the  affinity 
of  lead  to  the  barrels,  as  well  as  the  corrosive  qualities  of  gunpowder ; 
hence  my  preference  to  steel  barrels,  or  next  to  them,  the  steel  mix- 
ture. 

I  have  recently  got  word  of  a  fellow  in  San  Francisco,  CaL,  who 
has  actually  sold  guns  there,  to  friends  of  mine,  as  though  they  came 
from  me,  he  pretending  to  act  as  my  agent.  I  may  here  state  to  you, 
I  have  no  agent,  nor  is  any  new  gun,  having  my  name  on  it,  genuine, 
unless  purchased  of  myself. 

I  have  put  the  fellow  in  the  hands  of  an  attorney  to  settle  with 
him,  the  same  attorney  being  one  of  the  men  imposed  on,  by  a  sham 
gun,  purporting  to  have  come  from  me. 

I  herein  send  you  a  table  of  the  comparative  strength  of  gun- 
barrels,  of  various  kinds  of  metals,  as  fully  authenticated  by  experi- 
ments in  proof. 

You  will  perceive  the  laminated  steel  barrels  stand  first  for 
strength,  and  stub  and  steel  mixture  next,  and  perceive  their  cleanli- 
ness. 


Equal  to  a 

Pressure  of 

Surplus 

pressure  of 

proof  charge. 

strength. 

Laminated  steel, 

6022  Ibs. 

1700  Ibs. 

4322  Ibs. 

Best  stub  and  steel  mixture, 

5555 

1700 

3855 

Wire  twist, 

501  9.  V 

1700 

3319J 

Stub  twist, 

4818 

1700 

3118 

Charcoal  iron, 

4526 

1700 

2826 

Threepenny  skelp  iron, 

3841 

1700 

2141 

Damascus  iron, 

3292 

1700 

1592 

Twopenny  skelp  iron, 

2840 

1700 

1140 

I  am,  dear  sir,  yours  respectfully, 

JOHN  MULLIK. 
No.  16  Ann  st.,  New  York. 


APPENDIX.— B. 


I  have  just  learned  that  D.  B.  Trimble,  Sportsman's  Warehouse, 
No.  200  Baltimore  St.,  Baltimore,  has  a  lot  of  fine  ducking  guns  of 
Westley  Richards'  best,  made  to  order,  of  the  Carroll's  Island  Club 
pattern,  nearly  similar  in  all  respects  to  the  guns  recommended  by  me 
at  p.  78. 

These  guns  are  of  the  best  laminated  steel. 

Barrels  45  inch — 6  gauge,  will  chamber  22  BB  shot, 
weight  of  barrels,         .        .         8  Ib. 
"        stock,  .     7| 

"         entire  gun,  .         .       15£ 
Platina  vents.     Bar-locks  5J  inches,  nipples  military  size, 

jointed  loading-rod,  spare  nipples  and  cover,  but  no 

case.     Price  complete, $112  00 

Mr.  Trimble  has  guns  of  the  same  style  by  other  makers,  at      75  00 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  recommending  the  112  dollar  Westley 
Richards  pieces  as  the  best  style  of  shoulder-duck-guns  in  the  world, 
and  very  cheap  at  the  price. 

Guns  of  this  fashion,  and  nearly  of  this  size,  were  recommended 
by  me.  in  1850,  to  some  gentlemen  of  Baltimore,  to  whom  I  showed 
one  of  the  same  kind,  but  somewhat  larger,  previous  to  which  time 
they  had  not,  I  believe,  been  used  in  that  section  of  the  country. 


APPENDIX.— C. 


Materials  required  for  making  artificial  flies. 

A  complete  fly-fisher  will  make  his  own  flies,  and  will  find  much 
amusement  in  the  practice  of  this  delicate  art.  It  will  be  necessary 
that  he  should  provide  himself"  with  the  following  materials  to  enable 
him  to  imitate  the  flies  described  hereinbefore : 


London,  Kirby-sneck,  and  Limerick  hooks,  of  all  sizes.  Of  these 
the  Limerick  hook  is  in  the  greatest  general  estimation  ;  but  in  the 
north  of  England,  the  Kirby-sneck  hook  is  preferred  for  small  hackle 
flies. 

FEATHERS. 

Feathers  of  the  grouse,  snipe,  bittern,  woodcock,  partridge,  land- 
rail, golden  plover,  starling,  and  jay ;  hackles  from  cocks  and  pea- 
cocks ;  furs  of  all  colors,  from  the  skins  of  squirrels,  moles  and  water- 
rats  ;  camel's  hair ;  hare's  ear  and  fur  from  its  neck,  and  the  yellow 
fur  from  the  skin  of  the  martin  ;  mohairs  of  various  shades,  and 
camlets;  black  horse-hair ;  hog's  down  died  various  colors ;  gold  and 
silver  twist ;  and  sewing  silk  of  various  colors  and  thicknesses. 

Silk  twist,  cobblers'  and  bees'-wax. 

A  pair  of  pliers,  a  pair  of  fine-pointed  scissors,  a  small  hand  slide- 
vice,  and  a  fine-pointed  strong  dubbing-needle. 


480  APPENDIX. C. 

Silkworm  gut,  from  the  finest  to  the  strongest,  and  Salmon  gut, 
single  and  twisted. 

Lengths  of  the  white  and  sorrel  hairs  of  stallions'  tails. 

There  are  other  fancy  materials,  as  monkey's  fur ;  parrot's,  king- 
fisher's, macaw's,  gold  and  silver  pheasant  feathers,  and,  above  all,  the 
scarlet  ibis. 

Fancy  flies  often  kill  when  no  others  will — witness  the  far-famed 
scarlet  ibis  wings,  with  gold  twist  body ;  no  fly  kills  like  it,  year  in 
and  year  out,  on  Long  Island,  and  it  is  sure  death  to  sea-trout  in  the 
gulf  of  St  Lawrence,  and  everywhere  to  smelt,  which  rise  at  it  readily. 





AR1 


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